What's Beyond Friendship?
by lizardwriter
Summary: Emily and JJ are developing feelings they never thought they would. Now what are they gonna do about them? Please R&R. Disclaimer: I own nothing related to CM. Please don't sue. Rated M for sex, language, and adult concepts.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own none of the CM characters. Please don't sue! I'm not profiting in any way from this.

JJ glanced over her shoulder at the tall brunette who was talking to their boss. They were going out later with Garcia. Just the usual trip to the bar after work. Always fun. Always full of pitchers of beer, and of course, JJ kicking ass in darts. She laughed, remembering the time when she'd beat five guys in a row with Prentiss and Garcia acting as her own personal cheerleading squad. She loved the relationship she had with those girls, though she couldn't completely trust either. She couldn't completely trust anyone. In her line of work she doubted that anyone was able to trust completely, seeing as they witnessed daily the worst that humanity had to offer. Prentiss and Garcia were as close to best friends as she'd had since her days on varsity soccer in high school.

"Earth to JJ!"

JJ blinked to see Emily waving her hand back and forth in front of her face.

"Where were you right now? You looked a million miles away."

"Sorry. I was just thinking."

"About…?" Emily prompted.

"How many guys I'm gonna make cry tonight when I beat them at darts." JJ grinned at her friend.

Emily laughed. "Yeah well you keep showing them up you're gonna stop having people to play you."

"You could always learn to play!"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Once again, I'm better at aiming a pistol than a dart! It's a whole different skill set."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you keep saying. How much longer 'til we're done with work for the day?"

"Not too long." Emily glanced at her watch. "Another hour or so."

JJ groaned and looked back at the files in front of her. She was at Morgan's desk just to get out of her office and be around some other people; to not be lonely while surrounded with gruesome images. It didn't really help though. Every case that came across her desk displayed yet another way that people could be cruel to each other, in more ways than JJ had thought imaginable when she'd first joined the bureau. It was sad that a basic murder now seemed….commonplace, mundane….even safe, by comparison to some of the crimes she had to read about in her files. It was sad, she mused, that she could think the terms "basic murder" in unison.

"Hey, um, JJ?" Emily said right by her ear. "Are you actually reading that file or did you leave planet Earth again."

JJ glanced at Emily who was now leaning over her with one arm on either side of her, hands pushing against the desk.

"Earth? Where's that?" she quipped. She let out a long sigh. "I don't think I can do any more paperwork today. There's only so much blood and gore a girl can take in a day."

"I dunno about that. When we did that slasher flick marathon after the case in Idaho, you seemed to have way more stamina for it than the rest of us."

"Yeah but those are silly in their gruesomeness. Somehow corn syrup lacks the authenticity when you've seen a room actually splattered with human blood." Flashes blew through JJ's head that she fought away. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Emily struggling with similar demons. She saw the other agent blink the images away. There was a kind of inner strength in Emily that she really admired. Emily never really talked about her childhood, or her problems, and she always managed to come up with some sarcastic comment that'd send JJ and Garcia into fits of laughter. JJ wasn't sure how she managed it.

"Hey I'm gonna go talk to Hotch. I just remembered something I forgot to ask him. See you at the bar in an hour?" Emily asked.

"Sure thing." JJ said as she watched her friend walk away. She wondered briefly what it was that Emily wanted to talk to Hotch about and made a mental note to ask later. She knew it was being nosy, but who knew, maybe she'd get some tidbit of juicy office gossip before Garcia did for a change. She turned back to the papers she'd laid out on Morgan's desk and decided she'd better tidy them up and head back to her office. God only knew how she was gonna kill the next hour without opening more files. Maybe three coffee breaks would do the trick. Plus she could probably divide the files into two or three trips back and forth from her office.


	2. Chapter 2

An hour and a half later found JJ and Garcia sitting at a table at the bar waiting for the arrival of their friend.

"It's not like her to be late." JJ mused aloud.

"Well she was talking to Hotch. Maybe they got…distracted." Garcia replied with a wink.

"Garcia get your mind out of the gutter," JJ rolled her eyes, amused at her friend's comment.

"Hey, I'm just saying I think there could be a connection there. Besides, he already knows her parents and they seem to like him so that's just one thing that they don't have to worry about."

JJ looked at Garcia, trying to gauge whether or not her friend was joking. She had to be, but then…Garcia's words rang slightly true. And Emily had had three private meetings in Hotch's office in the past week, which was a bit excessive. For some reason the idea of Emily and Hotch….dating…didn't sit well with JJ. It knotted her stomach. _Weird_. She thought. It was probably just that she was very against dating in the work place. The innocent flirtations that Garcia and Morgan had were one thing. They played around and they knew where they stood with each other. Even though it sounded unprofessional to the casual observer, it never interfered with their work together or their work with the rest of the team. It never made anyone else feel uncomfortable. If Emily was dating Hotch, though…_I mean he's our boss! She wouldn't!_

"Umm…JJ? Do I just send you into another world or what? This is the third time today you've totally spaced out on me."

JJ realized she'd been staring hard at her beer. She turned to see that Emily had arrived and shot her a smile, though inside she squirmed a little. _What the hell was that?_ She asked herself.

"Sorry…this time it was Garcia that sent me into outer space." JJ joked.

"Anyway," Emily continued, "Sorry I'm late. I was talking to Hotch and then we got sidetracked. We got talking about Germany. Turns out he was there around the same time I was, but he was on a trip with Haley and I was there with my parents of course. We missed each other in Munich by like a week it turns out. Go figure. It's crazy how small the world is sometimes."

"Yeah weird." JJ said. She could picture the two of them in Hotch's office laughing and talking animatedly. For some strange reason her stomach flipped. _Get a grip JJ. What, do you have a crush on Hotch now? Get it together._ "So what were you meeting with Hotch about to begin with? What was that burning question you had to ask him tonight?"

"Oh you know…work things. Just making sure that everything's good. We never really addressed that I had the opportunity to sell him out to Strauss. I mean he seemed ok with it, but we never sat down and had a conversation. I've been talking to him this week, trying to make sure we're still good, but I kept forgetting to outright ask him. You know it's really so much better to be direct sometimes."

"Well? What'd he say when you asked him?" Inquired gossip queen Garcia.

"He said that I shouldn't worry about it. He understands that I was put in a difficult position and he respects my decision. He said that I'm apparently a valuable member of the team and he's glad I joined the BAU, regardless of the circumstances. Felt kinda nice to hear actually. Now that I've satisfied your curiosity Miss Garcia can I get a damn beer?"  
"All you had to do was ask sweet-cheeks." Garcia winked at Emily and pulled the beer mug she'd been hiding out of her purse and handed it to her friend.

"Ah…finally." Emily said pouring herself some beer out of the pitcher and taking a big gulp. "There is nothing like a nice cold pitcher of beer at the end of a long day."

"Nope." Agreed JJ and Garcia in unison.

"So Jayj," Emily said, leaning back in her chair and surveying the bar. "Who's heart are you gonna break tonight?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea what you mean" JJ replied, trying to act aloof.

"I believe she's referring to you kicking some poor guy's ass in darts, my dear, when all he wants is to spend time with a gorgeous blonde." Garcia winked. "Those two guys from last week are back. That one with the hot ass over there and his buddy? Remember them? They both wanted you Jayj."

"Oh come on now. They just want someone to play darts with." JJ countered, feeling her face flush a little.

"Hun? They'd fall in love with you if you let them." Emily replied.

JJ blushed slightly at that. She didn't know if her friends were teasing or telling the truth. She had a feeling somewhere in the middle. It's true, the one guy, the one "with the hot ass" as Garcia had so delicately put it, had certainly made an effort to win her over. He'd bought her beers, asked her to dance, and tried his best not to be a sore loser when he got beat three times in a row by JJ. He did have a nice ass too, JJ thought as she checked out the view once more. She just hadn't felt a spark with him though. And even if she had, she probably wouldn't have acted on it. It seemed that recently she had neither the time nor the energy for a love life. She looked over at her two friends and noticed Emily checking out the same ass she'd been glancing at a moment before.

"Well, if you're not gonna go for it, I might." Emily said, sighing appreciably at her view.

JJ laughed. "Go for it." She said, and immediately regretted it. She didn't know why though. What was wrong with Emily hooking up with a guy who'd liked her? Did she actually like the guy? Had she been wrong about her feelings for him? Sure she'd enjoyed his company. He'd been fun. But nothing more. No connection. No desire to go home with him certainly. _JJ what is going on with you tonight?_ She thought to herself. She looked up to find Emily looking at her expectantly.

"Huh?" She said.

"I asked if you were sure and you sat there staring off into space. What's with you today? Does the moon seem that much more appealing than Earth here with us today?"

"Sorry. It's just….work." She lied. Well it wasn't really a lie. Earlier it had been work. And now she had no idea what was going on with her. For all she knew it could be uneasiness that she'd carried over from work.

"What about work?" Garcia pried.

"Nothing specifically." JJ said truthfully.

"Maybe too many hours spent looking at crime scene pictures today?" Emily suggested.

"Yeah. That definitely didn't help." JJ sighed. She was confused. She knew she was acting stranger than normal but for once had no idea why. True work didn't help, but she had the feeling that that wasn't all that it was this time. "Whatever." She said. "I'm out with my girls now, so everything's good. Besides there are cute guys to flirt with. " She grinned at her friends, then bounced off her stool and wandered over to the two guys they'd been talking about earlier.

"Anyone up for a game of darts?" She asked.

"You know, as much fun as I had getting beat over and over again last time, I think I'll pass. How about a dance instead?" Mr. Cute Ass replied shooting JJ a killer smile.

"Sounds good." JJ replied, taking the hand that he offered her and allowing him to lead her onto the dance floor.

He was a good dancer she noticed. He moved well. He felt her grip her closer and she went with it. After all, what could it hurt. Maybe a night of passion would snap her out of whatever was going on with her. But no, she knew she wouldn't go through with it. She really wasn't the type to get picked up in a bar and go home with a guy the same night. Still the dance could do no harm. She glanced to the table where her friends sat watching her and giggling. She was wondering what they were talking about and contemplating excusing herself from her dance partner to go back over and enjoy her friends' company when he leaned down and captured her lips with his. She kissed back, stunned. He'd caught her off guard and she couldn't process what was going on. He slid his tongue across her lips and on instinct she let it into her mouth. It felt wrong though. Not wrong, per se, just not what she wanted. She pulled away.

"Aww come on!" He said.

"Sorry, I…umm…" she looked to her friends for help, but Garcia was too busy giggling and Emily sat there looking both shocked and amused. "I just don't normally kiss random guys in bars."

"Hey now," he said, feigning hurt, "I'm not just any random guy. I'm a random guy who let you humiliate him at darts a week ago." He grinned at her.

It was a nice grin she had to admit, but she did not want to kiss him again. She knew that much. There had been no spark, not for her at any rate. That at least she was sure of today. "I'm only interested in a dance. Take it or leave it."

"Ok, ok." He backed off a little and they resumed dancing. "Sorry. You're just too beautiful, I couldn't resist." He complimented her.

She blushed slightly, but said nothing. She glanced back at her friends. Garcia was still suffering from a fit of laughter, but Prentiss was just watching her with a thoughtful look on her face.

When the song ended, the guy kissed JJ graciously on the hand, and she in return thanked him for the dance and headed back to her friends.

"Penny for your thoughts." She said to Emily.

"How about a penny for how it was to kiss Mr. Hottie over there," Garcia interrupted.

"Yeah, was he as good as he looked?" Emily joined in.

JJ blushed but indulged her friends, knowing that Garcia would pester her for the rest of the night otherwise. "Yes he was a good kisser."

"And…" Garcia persisted. "Details please. Was there tongue? It looked like there mighta been tongue."

"Yes, oh Queen of Nosiness. There was tongue. And it was nice. But you know me, I don't really go for that."

"What? Nice kisses?" Garcia teased.

"No, random hookups in bars." JJ looked slightly uncomfortable. Fortunately Emily came to her rescue.

"Yeah well you're better than that. Besides…I've been looking at him, and I've decided he's just too short for you."

JJ laughed at that, and smiled gratefully at her friend who was looking back at her with inquisitive brown eyes. She knew Emily was gonna want to talk to her later, but later she could deal with. Right now she just wanted to relax, hang out with her friends, and have some more beer.


	3. Chapter 3

"Catch ya later Garcia!" Emily and JJ called over their shoulder as they walked towards Emily's car. JJ had had just a tad too much beer as it turned out, so Emily was being kind enough to give her a lift home, and pick her up for work the next morning. JJ smiled at her friend. She'd been lucky to work with such great women.

"So…." Said Emily.

"So…" JJ echoed.

"You gonna tell me what was up tonight? The spaciness? The weirdness with the kiss? The glare I got when I walked in the bar?"

"Glare? I didn't glare!" JJ said defensively.

"Uh, hun? There was a glare. I didn't call you on it cause it was almost like you were glaring through me. But there was a definite glare."

"Sorry." JJ berated herself inside. "I don't know what was up to be honest. I just…I dunno…." JJ trailed off.

"Well why were you glaring in general?"

"I don't know. It was stupid really."

"So tell me anyway."

JJ glanced at her friend and sighed. Emily had stopped in her tracks and was just looking at her. Her brown eyes looked both worried and caring. JJ felt her stomach become knotted again. "It's just…" she looked at Emily who nodded encouragingly for her to continue. "It's just that Garcia suggested that you and Hotch might have a thing." JJ blurted out. "And I really don't know why that thought bothered me. It just…I dunno…it just did." _What is wrong with me? It's not like me to share. Not stuff like this. What the hell JJ?_

"Oh…" Emily said and looked thoughtful for a minute. "So you like Hotch."

JJ thought she heard her friend sound vaguely upset. _Oh no!_ JJ thought. _She does like him and now she thinks I like him and we're gonna become some of those stupid girls arguing over some guy. And not just any guy! Our boss! This is stupid!_

"No! No…I don't like Hotch. At least I don't think I like Hotch. Well I like Hotch, obviously, but not like that. Not at all. He's my boss. I think it was just the idea of an interoffice relationship. Those never turn out well and I didn't like to think of anything breaking up the team dynamic. We work so well together." Her voice sounded surer than she felt and now that she thought about it, the reason she just gave sounded reasonable.

"Yeah we do." Emily responded. "So that's all that was bothering you? Worrying that Hotch and I were gonna screw up the team dynamic?"

"Yeah I guess….wait. ..'Hotch and I'? Does that mean you two are together?" JJ asked, the knots in her stomach tightening further. _Stop it!_ She silently told her stomach.

"No, no. Not at all. I just meant that there's nothing to worry about. Relax JJ." Emily put her hand on JJ's shoulder. "I promise you: there is nothing going on between Hotch and I besides a friendly work relationship. Ok? Are you sure you don't have a thing for Hotch?"

"Ok. Yeah. I'm positive. He's my boss. Even if I did have a thing for him, which, let me make this clear, I don't, I wouldn't do anything because he's my boss."

"Well good. Same here. And I don't have a thing for him either."

"Ok." JJ became keenly aware of Emily's hand still on her shoulder and turned to look at it. Emily seemed to have just noticed it still there too and pulled it away suddenly. They looked at each other in a moment of awkward silence, then turned and continued towards the car.

The ride home was uneventful. They chatted about lighter things: the guy that had challenged JJ to darts but had only hit the board about twice, partially because he was too busy trying to get a glimpse down JJ's and Emily's shirts, the lame season the Redskins were having, anything but work and the awkward conversation they'd had before.

When Emily pulled up and parked in front of JJ's house, though, Emily turned seriously once more to her friend.

"So we're good, right?"

"Yeah. I'm really sorry about the glare earlier. I promise it wasn't at you. I didn't mean to. My head's just in a weird place right now. I'll get over it I'm sure. Thanks for the ride. I'll see you in the morning."

Emily just looked at her friend for a minute. JJ felt like Emily was peering into her brain. That was the trouble with working with profilers. Emily reached out to JJ and pulled her into a hug, saying into her ear, "Good. I'm glad we're good. Get some rest now. Ok? You need it." Emily sounded quiet and supportive. Not her usual loud and funny self.

JJ hugged back, enjoying the warmth her friend provided in the chilly fall evening. She was somehow very aware of the hug. She didn't know why and chocked it up to the alcohol doing funny things with her tactile sense. "I'll try to get some rest. You too. And I'll see you way too early in the morning. Thanks again for the ride." JJ let go of Emily and got out of the car, heading for the door.

"No problem. See you at 7, hun." Emily called after her, sounding more like her usual self. When JJ glanced back at her though, she had a puzzled look on her face. JJ was about to ask what was up, when Emily put the car in gear and drove away.

_What a weird night_. JJ thought as she stumbled into her house and up the stairs to the bedroom. She thought about Emily as she prepared for bed. They'd been friends since they met really, but the moment she'd known that she, Emily and Garcia would be fast friends was the night when, at that same bar, Emily had brought over a guy claiming to be an FBI agent. The three women had caught him in his lie and made him look foolish when they'd pulled out their badges proving that they were in fact actual FBI agents. It had been a great bonding moment. The three of them went out at least once a week since then. They'd become close, for colleagues. But then again you had to in a job like theirs. JJ and Emily especially spent half their time in some town in the middle of nowhere in adjoining hotel rooms, so it was always both easy and comforting to hang out in the other's room at night. They helped each other through the cases without needing to talk about them. They just kept each other company and watched sitcoms on TV together. They had similar taste in TV it turned out. They both loved Monk for instance, and it provided a good release for them. They didn't have to think about the horrific crimes they'd seen during the day and it also provided something to talk about. They laughed and chatted about meaningless things, but at the same time it helped them both immensely. Tonight had been a different vibe though. Tonight had been strange. JJ had felt awkward. Not the whole time, but at moments.

JJ climbed into bed and stared up at the ceiling. She could see Emily's face in her mind…the look she'd given her earlier of concern and caring. It'd been kinda nice to know that Emily had noticed she was off. Garcia, sure. Garcia was the goddess of all wisdom who knew all and saw all. She'd known Garcia for years. But Prentiss was relatively new to the group. She could easily have not noticed the change in JJ's behavior. _Then again,_ JJ thought,_ she is a profiler. Oh well. Just go to sleep JJ. But still it was weird tonight how I told her things. I don't normally open up. Maybe I just needed to talk to someone. Still, why not Garcia?_ JJ's mind became more confused the more she tried to think. _Just sleep JJ._ JJ closed her eyes and after several more minutes of confused thoughts whirling through her head, her exhaustion won out and she drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Emily woke up to the bleeping of her alarm. Why did it feel so damn early? Oh yeah…she remembered…she had to go pick JJ up. She looked at her alarm that said 6:30 a.m. and groaned. She should not have stayed out so late last night.

Last night had been strange. In some ways it had been just like every other night out with the girls, but in others…. JJ had been acting strange for starters, and while the reason she gave made sense, Emily felt that maybe there was something else going on too. She knew that JJ had insisted that she had no feelings for Hotch, but maybe, just maybe, she was repressing them for the sake of the job. At least JJ had talked to her though. Given her an answer. Not blown her off and shut her out like she knew they all had a tendency to do to protect themselves and their privacy. Privacy in the BAU, was kind of an imaginary thing. So whatever they could keep to themselves they tended to. Still with JJ last night…

Prentiss shook her head. "Speaking of JJ you should get out of bed so that you're not late to pick her up." She reminded herself out loud.

As Prentiss got ready for the day she thought briefly about the hug she'd given JJ the previous night. She didn't really know why she did. Or why it mattered, since it wasn't like they hadn't hugged before. But last night they'd….well maybe it'd been her imagination but she felt like they'd lingered longer than she meant to. And the strangest part of the night had to have been when she'd felt her stomach flutter when that guy had kissed JJ. It must have been cause she thought he was hot and had even contemplated, albeit briefly, going for him. Watching JJ dance with him then watching him kiss her had felt…well she didn't really know. It hadn't felt good was all she knew. She just didn't know why. It had puzzled her the whole evening and had even kept her up some that night. She loved hanging out with JJ and Garcia. They were always a blast. But last night, she'd caught herself…_Nothing. I caught myself doing nothing. Everything was fine and normal. JJ was just being weird and she said she'd get over it and I'm sure she has. So don't dwell on last night Em!_ She told herself.

After snagging a quick breakfast she was out the door and off to pick up JJ. The closer she got the more nervous she got. _Wait…nervous? Why am I nervous? It's JJ for Christ's sake! Maybe I'm just afraid things will be awkward after the bizarreness of last night. Yeah. That's reasonable. That must be it._

She pulled up at JJ's house and paused briefly looking at the small, but tidy two story house with a small front yard and a neat row of delicate tulips out front. _Must be one of JJ's hobbies to take her mind of the job._ The profiler in Emily's head mused. With a slight knot in her stomach that she was doing her best to ignore, Emily stood up, walked to the blue front door, and rang the bell. Through the door she heard someone curse and then some rustling before the door pulled open to reveal a somewhat disheveled JJ.

"Hey do you mind coming in for a minute? Sorry, I just stubbed my toe on the end table and for the life of me I can't remember where I put my badge last night."

"I think you mighta forgotten to brush your hair too Jayj." Emily said reaching out to try to smooth it a little while simultaneously attempting to ignore the annoying thought in the back of her brain that was saying "Wow JJ is kinda cute with bed head." She didn't know why that part of her brain thought that and she didn't want to know. Right now what she needed to do was get her friend out the door in one piece so they wouldn't be late to work.

Emily began scanning the apartment looking for JJ's badge. She'd never been inside before, she realized suddenly. It was tidy. None of the clutter of files that always took over JJ's office. Emily wondered privately if keeping her home organized was in part a retaliation against those folders at work. While it was tidy and organized it was also obviously lived in. It wasn't overly organized. Just, organized enough. The walls were painted a bland off-white, but then there was personal flare in the picture frames that hung on the wall and lined the fireplace. Pictures of a young JJ in a soccer uniform with friends. Pictures of an even younger JJ with what could only have been an older sister. Several of those spanning many years were scattered around the room. There was the odd family portrait too. All the pictures on the walls were of pre-college JJ, Emily noted. The ones on the fridge, however seemed more recent. There were a couple of the sister with another man and a small boy…her family Emily assumed. There were also more recent shots of some of the friends Emily recognized from some of the soccer pictures with their families. Emily wondered briefly if JJ had ever considered settling down and starting a family. Not really practical in the job they had now.

Emily knew that she had certainly thought about it…settling down and having kids. She'd never met the right guy though. Most of the guys she did date became intimidated when they found out that she could shoot a gun better than they could. Her success in her career scared a lot of guys off too, even other agents. She'd considered adopting. Especially after JJ had told her she'd make a good mother. She never had time though. And with all the traveling that working at the BAU required it just wasn't fair to bring a child into her house. The price of her dream job she guessed.

"Found it!" JJ said snapping Emily out of her thoughts. Not before JJ noticed though. "So who's a million miles away today, huh?" JJ joked.

"Hey at least I remembered to brush my hair this morning." Emily responded, teasing her friend.

JJ rushed off upstairs to where Emily assumed her bedroom was. Emily suddenly had the urge to see JJ's bedroom. Just a professional profiling interest she was sure. A curiosity about her private friend. She contemplated heading up the stairs after JJ, but decided to leave JJ's privacy to herself for now. _For now? What's that about Em? You planning on invading her privacy in the future?_ She shook her head. _What is wrong with you today? You have to overanalyze everything?_ She closed her eyes and smacked her head, not hard, just a tap...palm into forehead. _Out bizarreness…Get out!_ She told her head.

"Uh….Em? You ok?" JJ interrupted the other agent's thoughts.

"What? Oh…yeah." Emily replied. "I was just…It was nothing."

"Uh-huh.." JJ said skeptically, cocking one eyebrow and smirking slightly. "Sure. Cause I hit my head over nothing all the time."

"Oh shut up. We don't have time to get into it now anyway. We're gonna be late for work. "

"Yeah 'cause we all know it's impossible to drive and talk at the same time." JJ said, sarcasm evident in her voice. "Nice try Em. You made me talk last night. Now it's your turn."

Emily noticed that JJ seemed relatively back to her old self. The awkwardness she'd seen the night before had seemingly dissipated. Maybe JJ had been right about herself, that she was just in a weird mood and would get over it.

"It's nothing. I'm just in a weird mood. I'll get over it soon." Emily echoed JJ's words from the night before as they left the house.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny. That was my excuse. Get your own."

"What if it works for me too?" Emily grinned at JJ as they got into the car.

"Ok but seriously Em. You're the one who's off in Lalaland this morning. Penny for your thoughts?"

"Only worth a penny, huh? I dunno. Ok look it's really nothing important. I was just wondering…ok this is gonna sound way creepier than it is, but I was wondering what your room looked like. Well not just your room. The rest of your house in general."

"So you were profiling me." It was more of a statement than a question. Emily glanced at JJ and saw her eyes drop and her lips form a tight line. A mixture of sadness and anger was readable on the younger agent's face.

"No. Or, well, I wasn't trying to profile you. It's hard to turn off, you know? But I suppose I did a little. That's not why I wanted to see your room though. Or, well maybe it was. Look I have no idea. Can we just change the subject?" Emily squirmed slightly in her seat.

"Yeah. Sure." JJ mumbled, looking out the window like her eyes were glued that way.

Emily glanced over and saw the tension in JJ's body. She knew that the younger agent felt invaded somehow, and exposed. She wondered if JJ would ever open up to her again and at the possibility that she wouldn't Emily suddenly got a pang of sadness and disappointment. She felt her stomach tighten and the knots that had been their earlier return. _OK Emily seriously what is up with you today?_ She guessed that she just didn't like the idea of new barriers being thrown up between her and JJ, now that she'd finally started to feel that some of the old ones were being torn down a little. She really appreciated her friendship with JJ. JJ was the first real friend she'd made when she'd been transferred to the BAU. Sure she was friends with Garcia too. Who wouldn't be? She was awesome. She was always a hoot to hang out with. With JJ though…Emily just always felt closer to JJ. Now that she was thinking about it she couldn't put her finger on why this was exactly. It's just, if there was one person she really thought she might be able to get close to, to turn to if she ever did need to talk, she'd always thought it would probably be JJ. The funny thing was that here she was, with the opportunity to talk to JJ and she couldn't even organize her thoughts, let alone express them. She really wished she knew what was going on in her brain, but before she had a chance to figure it out they arrived at work.

In the elevator up from the parking garage, Emily couldn't help but notice that JJ stood on the opposite side of the elevator, staring straight ahead at the doors. Obviously she was still upset at being profiled. _Dammit why'd you profile her?_ Emily silently berated herself. _Total invasion of privacy! How would you feel if the tables had been turned? You'd be pissed that's what you'd be!_ Emily smacked her forehead for the second time that morning and glanced up at JJ in time to see the blonde looking away quickly with a thin smile on her face. Emily sighed heavily as they got off on their floor and headed to their respective desks. Emily arrived at hers first and watched her friend walk off to her office. How was she gonna fix this? And when was she gonna start feeling like herself again?

"What, are you checkin' out her ass or something? Earth to Emily!" Morgan's voice behind her snapped her out of her thoughts.

"What? No! Of course not. Don't be such a guy Morgan!" Emily said, but she felt her cheeks flush slightly. What was that about?

"Sorry, I can't help it. My DNA is what it is. And I've never heard the ladies complaining before!" Morgan grinned.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Emily smiled back. "Get over yourself." This was more like it. An early morning tease with Morgan. She felt like maybe the weirdness of the morning until that point was disappearing.

"Hey, I'm just saying the ladies tend to like what they see." Morgan winked at her. "So are you gonna tell me why you were staring at JJ?"

"Um. No. 'Cause there's nothing to tell! I wasn't staring at JJ I was staring off into space. Not my fault you don't know the difference." Emily knew she was lying, but she hadn't consciously been watching her friend and she wasn't really sure why she had been, so she felt the lie was a good choice.

"Whatever you say Prentiss." Morgan said raising his eyebrow and looking skeptical.

Hotch emerged from his office then with JJ behind him. JJ headed on to the conference room with a file in her hand as Hotch paused to address his team.

"We've got a case. JJ just got the fax and we're going to meet in the conference room in five minutes so grab a coffee or whatever you need and meet us in there." He announced.

Reid, who was walking in the door as Hotch spoke, nodded at his teammates and his boss and headed for his desk to put his bag down. Emily nodded back at him and suddenly got a knot back in her stomach. Morgan had told her that JJ and Reid had gone on a date the year before she'd joined the BAU. Emily couldn't see them together at all. She knew, or at least was pretty sure, that JJ thought of Reid as kind of a little brother. Still, they had gone on a date. Morgan had said he never got details. Emily wondered if they'd ever kissed. She felt her stomach twist more. This she was sure was not because of an interest in Reid. He was scrawny. She felt like she could break him like a twig. She could never date someone like that. He was cute, and he was fun to tease, but that was where their relationship stopped. Of that she was one hundred percent positive. So why the stomach knots? Maybe it was like JJ said yesterday: the thought of a personal relationship changing the team dynamic definitely bothered her too. Emily shook her head, expelling her bizarre thoughts, grabbed a legal pad and a pen off of her desk and headed to the conference room. She was the first one there besides JJ. Reid, Hotch, and Morgan must have all gone to the coffee machine, and she hadn't seen Rossi or Garcia yet that morning.

"Hey," Emily said sitting down.

"Hi," JJ mumbled in return, busy flipping through the file in front of her. She pulled out a copy of the report and shoved it across the table towards Emily, then she began to take the crime scene photos and spread them out on the table. She fiddled with the projector next, making sure that it was on and the pictures would load. Then she sat down awkwardly across the table from Emily and glanced up.

"What?" She asked.

Emily blinked, realizing she'd been staring at the younger agent again. "Nothing." She said hurriedly, and looked down at the information JJ had given her.

"If you say so," Emily barely heard JJ mutter under her breath.

When Emily glanced back up JJ was fidgeting with the file, not really looking at it, more looking through it. Emily swallowed hard, but couldn't come up with anything to say to clear the air. She could tell that JJ was still upset at being profiled by a friend. Emily wasn't sure if she should give the younger agent time to cool down, or if she should push the issue and apologize again. After swallowing again she said, "JJ, look I…" But before she could get another word out, Rossi and Hotch entered the room. JJ, who's head had whipped up to look at Emily at hearing her name, looked back down at her file. She handed the two men copies of the report.

Emily looked back down at her copy of the report and tried to focus as the rest of the team filtered in and took their seats. She looked up when JJ cleared her throat and began to speak.

"We've been asked to go to Wapakoneta, Ohio to help the local sheriff's department. Over the past fourteen years, twenty children have gone missing. Six of those children in the past year. This is not a large town, so these numbers are fairly high." JJ clicked the button to go to the next slide in her presentation, which displayed several of the crime scene pictures.

"Ok, so that's a lot of missing kids, but what makes this a BAU case?" Morgan asked.

"How about that none of them have ever been found," JJ replied and began handing around the photographs, "until two weeks ago when one of them turned up dead, body mutilated and showing years of torture. And another one appeared two days ago in the same condition." JJ went to the next slide which displayed the twenty missing children. "The two bodies found belonged to the first two boys taken fourteen and thirteen years ago. They were both eight at the time they were taken. The age of the remaining missing children range from six to eight. All have short brown hair and blue eyes, though they are both male and female. All come from middle class working families, who's parents at the time they were taken, were all married to each other."

JJ continued to present the case to the team, interrupted every once and a while by questions from Morgan or Rossi, and factoids from the genius mind of Reid. Hotch seemed distracted, as he always did when cases involved small children. He was scanning the faces of the children. Emily felt for him. It had to be hard to be a father and the head of the BAU. He looked so withdrawn ever since Haley had left him. Emily really wished she could help her superior in some way. She just didn't know how.

She turned her attention back to JJ. _She looks so confident, so sure. I love it when she gives briefings. She's always so in her element. You'd never know how much it bothers her to see the images she puts on that screen. She just turns on her work persona and that's her._ Emily couldn't help but admire her. She knew that many people saw her that way as well, as the queen of compartmentalization, but in truth the images haunted her as much as anybody else. Growing up a diplomat's daughter, however, had taught her to hide her emotions and always present a professional front. It had been hard sometimes as a child but she'd adjusted. At the time she hadn't appreciated all of the moving around. It had been difficult to make close friends and keep in touch with them when she'd moved away. She'd constantly had to deal with being thrown head first into a new culture and having to learn new languages. Now, though, she appreciated her experiences. She found her languages an invaluable asset to her FBI career. She also found that being experienced with so many cultures, especially Middle Eastern ones, helped her be a better profiler, especially given the current terrorism issues in the United States.

JJ, though, hadn't had to grow up as the face of the daughter of the American Diplomat. She hadn't grown up with the weight that had carried. She'd grown up in a small town in Pennsylvania. But she'd grown up strong. She still had developed the ability to compartmentalize. Emily thought that JJ was better at it than she thought she was. She knew that certain cases and certain aspects of the job got to her, but they got to everyone. Watching her now, she could really see the inner strength of the blonde agent. She was kind of beautiful in the way she presented the information: not emotional, but not cold and uncaring either. _Woah, beautiful? What's with you Emily?_

"Emily?" Hotch was saying.

"Hm?" Emily replied, still not fully paying attention.

Garcia, who was seated to her right, elbowed her.

"Ow. What was that for?" Emily whispered to Garcia.

"Umm…How about that you weren't paying any attention at all when Hotch asked you a question and continued to be out of it while we just sat here lookin' at ya." Garcia whispered back.

Emily looked up to see the team looking at her expectantly. "Sorry," she said looking apologetic and squirming a little in her seat.

Hotch gave her a concerned look and repeated his question. "Can you go to talk to the parents of the two boys whose bodies were discovered with JJ right after we've met the local sheriff, when we arrive? Or would you rather I send someone else with her?"

"Oh, yeah, no, that's fine. I'll go." _Good,_ she thought to herself_, that'll give me a chance to talk to JJ some more, maybe smooth things over._

"Ok great, that's settled then. Wheels up in an hour." With that, Hotch gathered his papers and left the room.

"Don't even think about moving." Garcia whispered to her.

Emily rolled her eyes, but stayed where she was as she watched the others file out of the room. JJ glanced back at Emily before she exited, but said nothing.

"Ok, so what's going on?" Garcia turned to Emily as soon as the last team member exited the room.

"I don't know what you're talking about Garcia."

"Oh yeah, right, sure. Because Emily Prentiss tunes out during briefings all the time. And not noticing a direct question from Hotch? That is so not the Emily Prentiss I know! So dish."

Emily sighed. Then she remembered what JJ had said last night about Garcia mentioning a possible "thing" between Emily and Hotch. "I don't like Hotch if that's what you're thinking. There is nothing going on between us. Garcia? I mean it. Nothing."

"Oh, I believe you. I wouldn't have last night, but I do today." Garcia smiled smugly. "Now I'm wondering what's going on with you and JJ."

"What do you mean?" Emily said trying to hide her discomfort.

"Oh, I dunno. How about the awkward looks you two kept exchanging during the meeting? Or that when you spaced out you were staring at her? And Morgan whispered to me something about it being the second time already today. Not to mention last night something seemed a bit off. So what's up?"

"Nothing. Really. I'm just feeling a little spacey today."

"Uh-huh. Sure. Just one problem sweetcheeks. That doesn't explain the weirdness last night and doesn't explain why you're spacey. Or why JJ's acting strange."

"Ok so go harass JJ about why she's acting strange. I'm sure it has nothing to do with me…" Emily trailed off, knowing full well that at least part of the strangeness was her fault.

"Uh-huh. Yeah. And you can't look me in the eye because?" Garcia persisted.

"Ok well I might have accidently profiled JJ's house a little this morning, which might have upset her a little."

"Emily Prentiss!" Garcia scolded. "Of course that upset her. You know how little privacy there is when you're surrounded by profilers. And you go and profile her house anyway? Wait. Her house? What do you mean her house? You mean the outside of it?"

"No, her living room and kitchen."

"Umm…What were you doing in her kitchen? I thought you were just dropping her off and picking her up. Did you make her breakfast too?"

"What? No. She just invited me in for a minute this morning while she was looking for her badge. That's all."

"Looking for her badge? That doesn't sound like JJ. She's usually pretty organized. See? That proves that she's a little off too. Which just makes me think that there's something going on with you two?"

"Like what Garcia? What could possibly be going on with us?" Emily asked.

"I dunno. Depends."

"On?" Emily inquired, not sure she really wanted to hear the answer, but stuck in the conversation now.

"Did you see her bedroom?" Garcia winked with a grin on her face.

Emily felt her cheeks flush a little. _What the hell Em? What's that reaction about?_ "No. I didn't. I told you. Kitchen and living room only and it was really only one big room. Why would you think I'd seen her bedroom? What could I possibly be doing in JJ's bedroom, Garcia?"

"Well, from the slight blush you've got started there, I'd say plenty." Garcia teased her friend. She paused and looked thoughtfully at Prentiss who was looking nervously back at her, slightly worried about the next thing Garcia might say. "Wait, hun….do you….no way! You couldn't! Could you?" Garcia was half talking to herself, and half to Prentiss.

"Could I what, Garcia?" Prentiss sighed.

"Do you like JJ?" Garcia turned an incredulous look to Prentiss.

"Um…don't you? She's awesome. We go out with her a lot. I thought it was fairly clear we all liked each other."

"Ok you so totally know that's not what I meant." Garcia glared.

Realization dawned on Prentiss. "Woah! What? No!" Prentiss practically yelled, then looked around and lowered her voice. "No. I don't like JJ in a romantic way at all. Hello? She's a girl! I don't know if you'd noticed but I like guys. You know, most of my dates are with guys."

"Ok first of all, 'most'??? And secondly, ok seriously Em, what dates? I'm not trying to be harsh there, but it's not like either you or JJ has the most stellar love life. When was the last time you went on a date? Better yet, when was the last time you went on a date with someone you wanted to see again?"

"Ok not most, _all_ of my dates are with men. Better? And ok so I haven't exactly been dating a lot since I joined the BAU, but it's not like we have a lot of time. It doesn't mean I've suddenly switched teams, Garcia. And it's not my fault if the only guys interested are not worth going on a second date with." Emily was fighting the knots in her stomach and felt herself trembling slightly.

"Ok, sweetie. Relax." Garcia reached out and took hold of Emily's hand, comforting her slightly. "Aww, babe you're shaking. I didn't mean to get you that riled up. But seriously something _is_ going on between you and JJ, and I think you two should figure out what before it interferes with your work anymore. I don't know what. Maybe the profiling, being profiled thing is really all that it is, but whatever it is you two need to sort it out. Oh, and then of course come and tell _moi_, Queen of all Interoffice Gossip." Garcia winked and Emily calmed down slightly. She even cracked a smile.

She knew Garcia was right. Whatever was going on with her and JJ needed to be sorted out. She'd try to apologize on the plain if they could catch a moment where the others were asleep or something. If not they'd have to talk in the car on the way to the victims' parents' houses. Emily glanced out the door of the conference room just in time to catch JJ walking by, glancing into the room at the two other women, who were still holding hands, glare slightly at Emily, and hurry on past.

Emily removed her hand from Garcia's quickly, though she wasn't sure what exactly prompted her to do so. _Garcia can't possibly be right, right? I mean, I like men. M-E-N. Men. Always have. Remember that crush you used to have on Hotch? He's a man. A very sexy man. A man who's your boss, so you never acted on anything and got over the crush, but a man none the less. Get a grip! If you have a crush on anyone, it's Hotch again, not JJ. Breathe Prentiss._ Prentiss took her advice and took a couple of deep breaths. Turning back to Garcia she said, "I'll talk to her. I'll try to sort it out. I'll do my best to apologize and I hope that she'll listen. And then, of course, I will tell you so that your fountain of knowledge is not lacking." Emily smiled and got up to go get her bag and a cup of coffee before takeoff. For some reason, she was anxious about having to talk to JJ later. _I hope she forgives me for profiling her_. She thought to herself as she wondered off.


	5. Chapter 5

JJ was specifically avoiding looking at Emily. She couldn't believe how invaded she felt at being profiled by someone she considered a friend. And she'd just started to open up to Emily! She'd let her guard down slightly the night before and this was what it brought her? It wasn't worth it. And worse, now she didn't know how to act around Emily. Half of her wanted to confront the brunette and ask her exactly what she thought she'd figured out about JJ. The other half just wanted to stay away from her. There was also a small voice in the back of her head that was busy saying "You can't stay away from her and you really don't want to," but she was refusing to listen to it. She hated that she was currently trapped on a plane with profilers, especially Emily. At times like these she felt like they could see right through her. She hated that exposed feeling. Hard as she tried to hide how much things sometimes effected her, she knew that people noticed. Hotch especially. Hotch, she felt, never judged though. He advised her and looked out for her, but in a way it was his job to look out for everybody on the team. It was part of the responsibility of being the team leader. He almost had to profile his team, so when he profiled JJ she didn't feel as upset and as betrayed as she did right now. _Plus he doesn't come to my house and profile it_. JJ scowled as she thought this. She knew Emily hadn't meant to profile her, but she couldn't help feeling really betrayed. She didn't even know why she was quite so mad at Emily. She didn't think she'd be quite as upset if it had been, say Morgan, who had profiled her living room. She would still have been mad, but she didn't think as mad. But why was that? Why was it different with Emily? Because she was closer friends with Emily maybe? She wasn't sure. She knew she should sort it out rather than let it effect her work, but she just didn't want to deal with it right now.

A mental image popped into her head: Emily and Garcia sitting in the conference room holding hands. The nausea that had surged up in her at that moment surged up in her again now. What had they been talking about? Had they been talking about her? Had Prentiss taken something she'd learned when she'd profiled JJ and told Garcia? And why were they holding hands? _And more than that, why does it bother you that they were holding hands JJ?_ She asked herself. She shook her head and glanced around the cabin of the plane. Morgan was asleep or at least pretending to be with his headphones in. Hotch was pouring over the headshots of the victims. She knew that in each child he could see his own son, and he desperately wanted to save each and every one of them. She felt for him. She hated seeing kids get hurt. It was a child getting hurt that had prompted her into law enforcement to begin with. The real reason she didn't like the woods too. Her family had been hiking when JJ was about twelve-years-old, and her sister had been sixteen, and they'd stopped for a picnic. JJ had wondered off to...umm…answer the call of nature…and had stumbled across an eight year old boy who had been stabbed three times: twice in the chest and once in the abdomen. He was barely breathing when JJ had tripped over him. She'd called to her parents, and her dad had run to the nearest ranger station for help, but in the end it had been too late to save the boy. JJ had watched him die in front of her. The police had eventually arrested the boy's stepfather. For JJ it had been a life altering experience. She decided never to go hiking in the woods again, and she decided that she wanted to get justice for little boys like the one she watched die.

JJ shook off the memory and continued to look around the cabin. Reid was reading a book, though to anyone else it would have looked like he was just turning the pages. JJ knew it was just the speed he read at though. Reid had a soft place in her heart. It wasn't quite the place he wanted to hold, but he was special to her in his own way. He was like the adorable little brother she'd never had. He was a real sweetheart. She smiled as she looked at him. Then frowned when she remembered the one date they'd been on. That had been a mistake. Luckily they were smart enough to leave it behind and keep it out of the office. When he'd tried to kiss her though…It had been so awkward. She didn't want to hurt him. He'd leaned in for the kiss and grazed her lips, but she just couldn't let it continue past that. She'd let him down as gently as she could, but he'd still looked like a kicked puppy. She'd given him a hug and told him that she loved him and they'd always be friends, but never anything more. She'd apologized and he'd said it was fine and he understood. He'd smiled, looking like a little kid putting on a brave front, and he'd left. They had a sort of unspoken agreement never to talk about it.

Rossi was looking through the file, looking for the subtleties that he was so good at catching. Then JJ's eyes fell on Emily. Emily was staring out the window frowning, but about what, JJ didn't know. She found herself wanting to know though. She had a strong urge to wonder over and sit across from Emily and pick her brain for answers, but then she remembered how hurt she'd felt that morning at being profiled and she stopped herself. She'd have to deal with Emily soon, she knew, but not until after they landed at least.


	6. Chapter 6

JJ was driving. She hadn't wanted to just sit staring out the window again like she had that morning on the way to work. She wanted something to focus on besides her thoughts. She and Emily were headed to see the family of the first boy that was taken, the first boy who'd turned up dead. They had been riding in silence for a good fifteen minutes when Emily cleared her throat.

"JJ…"

JJ's stomach muscles tightened. She risked a glance at the brunette and saw that she looked nervous. JJ looked back at the road and stared firmly ahead of her.

"JJ I'm really sorry. I never meant to profile you. I never meant to upset you. I never meant for anything to come between our friendship. I love hanging out with you and Garcia. You girls are the best friends I've had in a long time." Emily was rambling. Her nervousness clearly evident in her voice.

_I guess you don't always have to be a profiler to profile._ JJ mused to herself. She glanced at the other agent again to find her looking imploringly back at her. Her eyes begging JJ to forgive her. JJ immediately felt the urge to wrap Emily in a big hug. Of course she'd forgive her. They were friends after all. And Emily obviously hadn't done it on purpose. _But why had she wanted to see my room?_ JJ thought to herself.

"Em…I'm not really mad anymore. I just felt like my privacy was invaded. And if you weren't trying to profile me then why did you want to see my bedroom?"

"I don't know. I wanted to…I…It's that….Well, I…I have no idea, JJ." Emily replied. "I'm sorry. I wish I had an answer for you, but I don't."

JJ could hear the sincerity in her voice. She still felt like her privacy had been invaded. She knew that mentally and emotionally she'd taken a few steps away from Emily. The walls she'd begun to take down had been built back up. She hoped that given more time they'd come back down again. She wanted to be closer to Emily. She wanted to trust her, to be best friends with her even maybe. _Whoa. Best friends? First of all, is this high school? And second of all, since when do you get close to people JJ? Since when do you let them in close enough for them to be a "best friend"? What's with you recently?_

"Ok, look…let's just…let's put everything aside for now. We need to focus when we're talking to these parents. If we miss something and another child gets taken or turns up dead because we missed that one important detail we'll never forgive ourselves. So, for now, let's just focus on the case. Ok? Tonight, back at the hotel, maybe we can talk more and further clear the air. For now, though, our minds need to focus on the case." JJ glanced again at Emily who sighed. A sigh of relief? A sigh of frustration at not being able to talk now? A sigh for a completely different reason? JJ couldn't tell. JJ spontaneously reached her right hand out towards her fellow agent, who noticed the hand in took it in her own. JJ felt warmth emanate from Emily's soft skin. She gave it a little squeeze, as if to say, "We'll work it out. We'll be ok." JJ felt Emily squeeze back. She felt comforted by that. She didn't want to let go of Emily's hand, but she wasn't sure why. It felt really good to be holding her hand, to be in physical contact with her. _Woah. What??? What are you doing JJ? Or, better yet, what are you thinking???_ JJ pulled her hand away from Emily, more suddenly than she meant to. She saw Emily look at her with a confused and maybe slightly hurt look on her face.

"Sorry," JJ mumbled. "I needed it to steer, besides we're only about two minutes away. Do you know what you're going to ask the parents?"

JJ saw Emily compose herself out of the corner of her eye. "Yeah I have a good idea of how I'll start, and from there it'll depend on what information the parents can give me." Emily became, not hard per se, but professional. The strong, professional persona that she put on at work that JJ admired so much. She wished she could be half as strong in the face of the situations they had to deal with. Emily looked so strong, so confident, so sexy even. _Sexy? What the hell JJ? Wait…no..It's ok. She's your friend. You can think your friends are sexy. It doesn't mean that….of course it doesn't mean that! Don't be stupid. Quit over analyzing everything! Come on focus. You're at work. You're about to go meet grieving parents. You need to do what you do best, Jareau, be there to support people. Get your head on the job._ JJ was so lost in her thoughts she almost missed the house, but luckily the GPS said loudly "You have reached your destination." JJ silently thanked the GPS as she found a parking space. She and Emily looked at each other, then both opened their doors and stepped out. It was a part of the job that nobody liked: dealing with those left behind by the people that the team couldn't save. It was never easy. And of course it's not like it was their fault that they couldn't save those boys. They hadn't been called in to help until that morning. What were they supposed to have done? Still, the faces of the parents of dead children, the friends, the siblings, the faces all haunted JJ sometimes. The eyes especially, that look dead. It was as if you could see into their hearts and their souls and could see the damage there. You could see how broken they were. It was the people that got left behind that haunted JJ as much as those that died. _One of these days,_ JJ thought to herself, _I'd like to remember the faces of those we've saved instead._ JJ spared one more glance at Emily before she knocked on the door. _Here goes nothing_, she thought.


	7. Chapter 7

The meetings with the parents had gone as well as could be expected. Tears were shed by some, and years of walls kept others from falling apart. The parents of the second boy taken had separated because they couldn't handle the strain that losing their son had put on their marriage. JJ hated seeing broken families like that. Worse still, she knew that they hadn't really gotten any useful information, or at least they hadn't learned much that they didn't already know from the file. The initial detectives had done a pretty extensive investigation when the kidnappings had first taken place, but still she knew that Emily was hoping that her trained profiling eye would catch on to something they had missed. It hadn't though. Besides their looks and their age, the boys had little in common. The room of the first boy had been kept exactly as he left it, as if it was a shrine. The room of the other one had been packed into boxes and locked. Different people dealt with their grief in different ways. JJ knew this because she saw it all the time. Some people cried it out, others tried to block it out, and still others became enraged and tried to blame the whole world, including those close to them. In the end, JJ knew, everyone had to face facts and deal with their grief. Not just grief, actually, with all their emotions. JJ knew she wasn't one to talk, seeing as she usually belonged to the block things out school of dealing. Still, she did her best to help families through their grief and their emotions. She and Emily had looked through the first boy's room and sorted through the boxes of the other boy's life. There were no remnants of the lives of these boys beyond age eight, and yet they were found dead at the ages 22 and 21. _Not that much younger than me_. JJ had thought despairingly. What hells had they endured these past fourteen years? Who had taken them and what had he put them through? _He._ JJ thought. _It's always a "he". Men are wicked and evil. It seems like it's way too often the woman who plays the victim and the man who commits these atrocities! Maybe I should switch teams, since women don't seem that bad._ JJ thought jokingly to herself. _Yeah right. That'd be the day. Can you imagine? And if the team found out? Wow. That would be hilarious. Maybe me and Emily should pretend we're together some day just to see what reactions we get._

At the thought of her and Emily she stopped dead in her tracks. She had been pacing her hotel room, but somehow the thought of her and Emily being a couple, even a pretend one, had stopped her cold. She didn't know why. Some little voice in the back of her head was saying "Maybe you want that," but JJ was ferociously ignoring it. That was not possible. It wasn't an option. She liked guys. As scummy as they could be there was a definite sex appeal. Besides, she'd been with guys. She'd dated Andrew in college for two years before they'd broken up. She'd thought she'd been in love with him. They'd even moved in together off campus junior year for three months before they decided that that really wasn't a good idea. After they'd moved in together they'd been at each other's throats all the time and JJ had found herself wanting to be around him less and wanting to be touched by him less. When they'd realized they couldn't live together they'd split up. Well in all honesty JJ had moved out and broken up with him. He'd been pretty heartbroken, but sensible person that she was, JJ had known it was for the best and they wouldn't have made it. But Emily….no! Wait! What was she doing? What was she thinking? Emily was her friend. Her good friend. That was it. That was all. That's all there ever could be. For starters, JJ knew she was straight. Secondly, they were colleagues. No work relationships besides friendships. Especially with a girl.

There was a knock at JJ's door and she shook off her thoughts and opened the door. Emily stood before her, a red v-neck t-shirt on over tight jeans. _She looks hot_, thought the little voice in the back of JJ's head that she was ignoring.

"Hey. I thought maybe you might be hungry. Wanna go grab a burger? I saw a diner not too far from here." Emily said.

"I, um, I…yeah…sure. That sounds great." Dinner with Emily did sound great, but it sounded horrible at the same time. She was trying to sort out her thoughts that were flying around her head faster than she could keep up. She needed to make sure things were really good with Emily though, and dinner might be a good way to do that. "Let me change my shirt really quickly and grab a jacket."

"Ok…" Emily stood awkwardly in the doorway.

"Um…come in and shut the door." JJ said, feeling suddenly uncomfortable at inviting her friend into her room. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a purple v-neck t-shirt. She glanced at the older agent who glanced away and made a show of not looking at her, while suddenly seeming very interested in the small picture of flowers that the hotel had decorated the room with. JJ turned away from Emily and pulled her shirt off quickly leaving just her bra. She then threw the other shirt on as fast as she could, but unfortunately managed to put it on inside out. She heard Emily giggle and knew she'd noticed, but when she looked at the brunette she seemed engrossed in examining the bedspread. JJ took her shirt back off and put it on the right way. She didn't know why she'd felt so nervous. She was just changing in front of a girl, her friend, Emily Prentiss. It was no big deal. _God, JJ, get a grip!_ She scolded herself. She looked back at Emily to see the other agent watching her thoughtfully. JJ grabbed her jacket off the chair in the room and headed to the door. Emily followed her out of the room, brushing past her at the doorway where JJ stopped to check she had her room key before closing the door. JJ felt her skin tingle when Emily did that. She really needed to get a hold of herself and figure out what was going on.

JJ was strangely aware of Emily walking next to her down the hall and out of the building to the car. She felt as if her senses were in overdrive. She could smell the other woman's perfume and she found it almost intoxicating. Her thoughts, scaring her slightly, she considered going back to her room and claiming she felt suddenly ill, but knowing that she was with an exceptional profiler, she thought Emily would see through her lies. When Emily's arm brushed hers when they both tried to use the armrest in the car at the same time, JJ felt goose bumps run up her arm. _Stop it JJ. What are you doing?_ She thought, horrified at her bodies responses to her friend's accidental touches. _Ok this is just you being weird, right Jareau? There's nothing else going on here right? Right! Of course there isn't._ The little voice in the back of her brain, the one that had been being vocal all day, and getting ignored none the less, said "You're wrong! There is something else going on here and will you please take a minute to look at it and figure it out!" JJ pushed the voice back and told it to shut up. She looked at Emily as she drove to the diner Emily was directing her to. She looked beautiful, JJ noticed. Her brown hair fell around her face and the last rays of the setting sun illuminated her face in a way that almost took JJ's breath away. JJ forced her focus to return to the road.

"You ok?" Emily asked.

"What? Yeah! Everything's fine. Why?"

"Well you haven't said two words to me since we left your room and you're acting kind of strange. I know we still need to talk, but I thought we cleared the air somewhat this morning. Turn left up here, by the way."  
JJ didn't know what to say. She didn't know what was going on. Obviously not everything was fine. She knew it and apparently wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it, seeing as Emily had noticed as well. "We did clear the air. Look can we just talk over dinner maybe. Let's just get to the diner at least."

"Well that shouldn't take long seeing as it's right up there on the right," Emily replied.

JJ swallowed hard, realizing her avoidance time was running out quickly. She turned into the parking lot and they got out of the car and headed into the diner. They were seated by a young girl who looked high school aged. They thanked her and then JJ picked up her menu and hid behind it as she tried to decide what to eat. In truth, she was distracted and was barely paying attention to the menu in front of her. She was suddenly all nerves and when she was like that she wasn't hungry. She knew she needed to eat though so she shook her head as if to rid it of the strange thoughts she was having and tried to focus on the menu. She usually enjoyed getting breakfast at diners, but tonight that seemed like too much. She finally settled on a simple grilled cheese sandwich. With her meal chosen, she no longer had an excuse to keep the menu up as a visual barrier between her and Emily. She reluctantly put it down as the waitress approached.

The two women ordered and the waitress took the menus, taking away any hopes JJ had had of keeping it as a potential future visual barrier should the conversation become too awkward. She knew it was childish, but sometimes she just felt the urge to hide behind something: a menu, a pillow, her hands, whatever was handy. JJ looked up and found Emily about to start talking. JJ braced herself.

"JJ…I don't know what's been going on with us the past two days, but…Ok how about this: how about we just eat and have a normal dinner and then talk back at the hotel."

Emily's quick change in conversation caught JJ off guard. She looked at her friend with a confused look on her face. "Yeah. Sure. That's fine." JJ responded, still looking puzzled.

"Good. So grilled cheese, huh? Kinda boring there Jayj. Not your usual late night diner meal of pancakes with scrambled eggs and a side of bacon. What's that about?" Emily joked, a smile spread across her face.

_Wow, she knows what I normally order. I wonder why?_ The little voice at the back of JJ's mind perked up a little and became hopeful. Her logical brain, however, said, "Maybe it's because she's a profiler JJ!"

"Well you know, I have to watch my figure." JJ grinned and winked at her friend. "And you know there's nothing more slimming than French fries and a grilled cheese sandwich." JJ felt herself relax slightly as Emily giggled an rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah. That's definitely the best diet! Of course my BLT with fries and the appetizer of mozzarella sticks isn't that far behind as far as weight loss plans go."

JJ laughed. "Of course!" She replied, falling easily into the sarcastic banter they had shared so frequently in the past.

They continued their light hearted conversation for several more minutes before Emily's mozzarella sticks were brought out. They looked delicious, and JJ couldn't resist stealing one.

"Do you mind?" She asked reaching towards the plate.

"No, not at all." Emily replied, her mouth half full with melted cheese. As JJ reached for a mozzarella stick, her hand brushed Emily's that was also reaching for a mozzarella stick.

"Sorry," JJ felt herself blush and she retracted her hand quickly. She felt herself unable to make eye contact with her friend. When their hands had met JJ had felt like her stomach jump. She didn't know what was going on, but she decided physical contact with Emily was not a good idea if this was the effect it was going to have on her. She felt Emily's eyes on her. Feeling Emily's eyes watching her, only made JJ blush deeper. She knew that her blush would not escape the notice of the trained profiler.

"It's ok," Emily said after what felt like ages, but was in actuality only a short pause. "Here," she said, picking up a mozzarella stick and putting it on JJ's plate. "Want more than one?"

JJ's heart was in her throat. She didn't think she could speak. She swallowed hard and shook her head. She'd suddenly lost her appetite again as her nervousness returned. _Shit!_ She thought to herself. The voice at the back of her head said, "I told you so," but her conscious brain still didn't want to listen. She dipped the mozzarella stick in the marinara sauce when she was sure that Emily's hand wasn't hovering over the plate and she sat there chewing on it, looking at anything but Emily.

"You mind if I double dip?" Emily inquired, interrupting JJ's thoughts. JJ was so startled she actually looked at the other agent. "Sorry, I know it's a gross habit, but you just cannot get enough marinara sauce on the mozzarella stick with just one dip. It's just not possible unless you drop the whole thing in, but then you get marinara sauce all over your fingers. And if you do it with a knife and fork…well there are just some things that need to be eaten with fingers." Emily looked apologetic.

"Yeah, no, that's no problem. I know what you mean." JJ said. Was it possible that Emily hadn't noticed her awkwardness just then? _No_, she decided, _Emily must just be being nice. She knows I'm feeling awkward and doesn't want to make it worse. How'd I get so lucky as to find a friend like her?_

As if reading her thoughts, Emily said, "Thanks. I'm lucky to have a friend like you. Most of my friends get kind of disgusted when I ask that. Ok well when I say most of my friends, I mean the ones I had before I joined the BAU and they found me too intimidating. So I guess, in retrospect, not exactly true friends, if you know what I mean. Shame that. I don't know what's so intimidating about the job, well, ok, that's a lie. But just because I'm a successful female I seem to scare people away. You must have that sometimes. No?" She looked expectantly at JJ who nodded her agreement.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Some people, men especially, just can't handle a confident woman who has career goals. Most guys are fine until they find out I carry a gun, then they back off. It's like they know they're gonna fuck up and they think I'm going to shoot them when they do." JJ felt comfortable in this conversation. It felt normal. It was about guys.

"Exactly," Emily continued as their sandwiches arrived. "I mean what is it about a girl with a gun that guys find so threatening?"

"I dunno. I don't think it's all guys. I just think it's the wrong guys. Some guys find it sexy." JJ responded.

"Yeah, well that I can understand. I mean a girl with a gun is very sexy…" Emily stopped abruptly as JJ looked at her in surprise. She saw her friend's cheeks turn bright red. _Girls with guns are sexy?_ JJ's thoughts echoed Emily's words. She agreed really and before she could stop herself, she said so. Emily looked slightly relieved, but they both sat there in awkward silence eating their sandwiches and avoiding eye contact. The small voice in the back of JJ's head was saying something about Emily being a sexy girl with a gun, but JJ continued to adamantly ignore it. She couldn't think like that. She simply couldn't. JJ was too distracted by her own discomfort to contemplate why her friend had blushed at her own comment.

They finished their meal and paid with the briefest of discussions about how much each woman owed. They headed back to the car and drove back to the hotel in silence. JJ wasn't sure which was more torturous: the awkward silence, or the awkward conversations. Back at the hotel, JJ thought Emily might just head back to her room given the awkwardness, but at JJ's door Emily stopped. JJ, figuring there was no way to avoid her nicely and realizing that for the good of their work relationship they needed to talk, invited Emily into the room for a drink.

"I checked the minibar when we got home this evening. There's some rum and some vodka. I've got an orange juice that I bought earlier, and we could grab a coke from the vending machine. Does either a rum and coke or a screwdriver sound appealing to you?" JJ said, opening the door and heading for the minibar as Emily followed her into the room, closing the door behind her.

"Jayj…" Emily's voice sounded nervous. "Can we just…I just want to…Look can I just say…" She faltered and didn't make any attempts to finish any of the sentences she'd started. JJ, who had stopped and turned to face Emily when she'd started talking, sat down in the chair right next to her. She felt exhausted. She was mentally drained, and it was from more than the case they were working on. Whatever was going on with her and Emily was draining her too. She didn't want to go through another as emotionally trying day as today.

"Can you just say what, Em?" JJ prompted softly. She knew that whatever this conversation was going to be, they needed to have it before it really interfered with their work.

"I don't know. I feel like I don't know anything today. I don't know who's taking those children. I don't know how they haven't been detected. I don't know who the next missing child is going to be. I don't know which missing child is going to end up dead next. I don't know how to stop either of those things from happening. And I don't know what's going on with you and me. It's driving me crazy JJ. In the house today, when I was supposed to be going through the boxes with you, I couldn't keep my mind on the case. I kept thinking that I might have lost you. That my profiling your house this morning was the stupidest thing that I'd done in a really long time. I kept thinking that I could have royally fucked up the most important friendship to me. And that thought terrified me. And I don't think…" Emily's ramblings dropped off. The brunette seemed like she was near tears.

JJ, who had been just sitting there and letting her friend talk, stood up and went to Emily. She guided her to the bed where they both sat down and JJ put an arm around Emily's shoulders. This was the least in control JJ had ever seen her friend. She didn't know exactly how to handle it, but her mothering instinct kicked in. After all, she played mother to the team a lot. This was slightly different though. She really wanted to be there for Emily, in a way she wasn't for the other team members. She felt special being the person who Emily could turn to, who Emily wanted to turn to. Her stomach leapt a little. Emily angled herself on the bed so that she was partially facing JJ and she put both arms around her, pulling her into a hug. JJ hugged back and enjoyed feeling Emily's body pressing against her own. Well, she didn't consciously enjoy it, but the little nagging voice in the back of her head that was becoming harder to ignore did.

"You didn't lose me Emily. I told you earlier it's ok. I felt like my privacy had been invaded, but in truth, I'm glad it was you who invaded it. I wish you'd gone about it in a slightly different way, like by asking rather than profiling, but I understand it's part of who you are. So at least your mind can relax at that. I'm the one who's being crazy today, Em. I overreacted to you profiling me, and then I just keep having these strange thoughts that I can't even begin to describe. They're driving me insane, but I don't know what to do about them." JJ was half whispering in Emily's ear. She couldn't bring herself to break the hug and Emily didn't feel like she was going to either. They sat there in their embrace for several more minutes, just taking comfort in the feel of each other and the warmth that they offered each other. Finally JJ felt Emily pull away a little. JJ sat back and looked her friend in the eyes. What she saw there she couldn't identify. Emily reached out and pushed the hair back out of JJ's face and tucked it behind her ear. JJ's stomach fluttered.

"Emily?" She said, continuing to look her friend in the eyes. "We're gonna get this guy. We're gonna bring those kids home to their parents, and we're gonna make him pay." JJ said it with conviction, and found that she believed it. She had faith in the team, and she knew that sooner or later they'd catch the bastard. On impulse, JJ leaned forward and kissed Emily on the forehead, closing her eyes as she did so. She felt the smooth, soft skin of Emily's forehead press against her sensitive lips.

"Thank you JJ. That's exactly what I needed to hear. You're always great like that. Thank you." Emily leaned in and kissed JJ on the cheek. Her soft lips just barely brushed JJ's cheek, but it still sent a tingle down her spine. JJ was still confused and still had no idea what was going on with her, but she felt more at ease. Emily was her friend. Somehow tonight in all of the confusion and awkwardness they'd managed to become closer, and she could feel it. Emily got up to leave then.

"I should get to bed. I'm exhausted and we're going to have a long day tomorrow, I can feel it. Thanks again JJ." Emily shot her a smile, and JJ smiled back. Emily let herself out, but JJ got up after she left to get ready for bed and put the chain on the door.

With Emily gone the room seemed emptier and colder. JJ's head was reeling with strange new thoughts, but she had no energy to deal with them so pushed them away. As she was lying in bed waiting for sleep to take her, as she knew it would in no time, she thought about Emily. She thought about how beautiful she'd looked when she'd appeared at her door to ask her to grab some food. She thought about how cute she'd been when she'd blushed after talking about how hot girls with guns are. She thought about how it had felt to hug Emily in her room on the bed she was currently lying in. She thought about how it had felt to kiss Emily's forehead. She thought about how it had felt to have Emily's lips brush her cheek. For once she just let herself enjoy these thoughts as she drifted off to sleep, rather than overanalyzing them. She knew that something major was going on, but for tonight, she was just going to go with it and relax. She could overanalyze tomorrow. Or better yet, when they'd finished the case. With that last final thought JJ was asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Emily lay in her bed staring at the ceiling. She was exhausted but for some reason sleep was eluding her. Her mind was whirring, but for some reason her mind kept coming back to thoughts of JJ. Garcia's words rang through her head: "_But seriously something is going on between you and JJ…"_ she'd said. She'd been right. Something was going on. They had just gotten much closer, of that Emily was certain, but in what way and beyond that, Emily had no clue. Hundreds of unanswered questions and unidentified feelings were spinning through her head. _Do I like JJ?_ Emily wondered. _Was Garcia right? No! She can't be! JJ's a girl, Prentiss. You don't like girls. Not like that. But then why didn't you want to leave that hug? And why'd you kiss her? Ok it was a kiss on the cheek…such a soft cheek…such smooth skin….snap out of it Emily! JJ is your friend. Nothing more. You don't see her as anything else. She's your friend and your colleague and you two need to get it together so you don't fuck up this case. There's nothing more going on here besides two friends becoming better friends._ But much as she told herself that, she knew it wasn't true. At dinner when JJ had blushed then their hands had touched reaching for the mozzarella sticks, at least part of Emily's brain had known why. When JJ had seemed almost surprised when she'd agreed about a girl with a gun being sexy, Emily had almost hoped that JJ was referring to her being a sexy girl with a gun. At least part of Emily's brain had included JJ as a sexy girl with a gun when she had said it. When JJ had avoided her on the plane, barely even looking at her, Emily's stomach had been in knots. She'd felt like a bundle of nerves and she'd felt like she'd lost her best friend. The thought of losing JJ, she'd realized, was terrifying to her. Then, when JJ had taken her hand and squeezed it in the car, she'd felt a huge weight lift off of her. It was as if JJ had been saying, everything with us will be fine. Emily had managed to make herself anxious again though, by overanalyzing everything. She'd allowed herself to become guilt racked at profiling her friend, even after JJ had said she'd forgiven her. She'd twisted her thoughts so that she believed that JJ had just said the words, not really meant them, even though in the car she'd been sure of JJ's genuineness.

She felt like she didn't want to spend time away from JJ. She hadn't really been starving or anything when she'd gone to ask JJ if she wanted to grab dinner, she more just wanted to see her and spend some time with her. She wanted to clear the air. Then at the restaurant, it just hadn't felt like the right place. She hadn't been able to bring herself to open up in the diner. So even after the awkwardness that had taken place between them there, when Emily thought maybe it'd be better just to head back to her own room and leave JJ alone for the night, she hadn't. She'd stopped at the younger agent's door, looking for an invite in, and she'd gotten one. When she'd bared her soul to JJ, she'd felt exposed. It was the first time she'd truly felt exposed to anyone on the team. Who was she kidding? It was the first time she'd let herself feel truly exposed to anyone at all in a really long time. She never showed weakness, especially about a case. This was a hard and horrific case, but they'd dealt with worse. JJ hadn't judged her though. Or at least it hadn't felt like JJ had judged her. Instead JJ had come to her, and sat her on the end of the bed and held her. Emily had only allowed a few tears to fall, but that was a few more than anyone had seen her cry in a long time. When JJ had said that they were gonna catch this guy, Emily had believed her. When JJ had kissed her forehead, Emily had felt her mood and her hopes soar. Her stomach had flipped. She'd felt the urge to kiss JJ back, hence the kiss on the cheek. Somewhere, part of her brain was thinking, "That's not where you wanted to kiss her, Emily." It was a part of her brain that Emily wasn't entirely ready to pay attention to yet. She thought, however, that maybe it wasn't as wrong as she wanted it to be.

If she did like JJ her day to day life would become a lot harder. For starters she'd have to deal with the fact that she might not be as straight as she'd always thought she was. Then there was the issue that, while JJ definitely considered her a good friend, she doubted that the younger agent felt anything towards her romantically. She'd probably been acting so strange because she'd picked up on Emily's possible change in feelings. You didn't have to be a profiler to profile people, and JJ was much better at profiling than she thought she was. She would make an amazing profiler if she ever decided to, but she was happy where she was. Even if some miracle happened and JJ liked her back, there was still nothing they could do about it. They worked together. Any relationship could potentially screw up the team. What if they became unable to work together because of a horrible break up? _Woah…first you're not even sure if you like her…now you're breaking up with her?_ Emily thought to herself. The point was true if she dated anyone on the team though. _Do you like JJ?_ Emily asked herself. _I mean, really, do you?_ She told herself she didn't have an answer, but the truth was she was scared to find out. She was sure that as soon as she knew one way or another, the rest of the team would know too. That meant that if she did like JJ, the team would know. If JJ and she started a relationship, they'd definitely catch on. Sometimes Emily really hated working with profilers. What was she gonna do?

Emily's mind wondered back to her and JJ sitting on the end of JJ's bed. It had been such a perfect moment: so comfortable and comforting. She hadn't wanted to leave. She hadn't wanted the moment to end. She imagined being back there, back on the end of JJ's bed. She imagined tucking JJ's hair behind her ear again. Her hair had been so soft and silky. She imagined JJ's beautiful big blue eyes staring up into her own. She imagined leaning in to kiss her friend on the cheek, but unlike earlier that night, she imagined really pressing her lips firmly to the cheek. She pictured JJ's face in her head. The silky blonde hair, always perfectly framing her face, blue eyes you could swim in, her cute little nose, her gorgeous and contagious smile with those soft lips lining it. Emily closed her eyes, just picturing JJ. Emily finally drifted off to sleep thinking about JJ.


	9. Chapter 9

Emily awoke with a smile on her face. Her phone had woken her from a good dream. She and JJ had been back in JJ's room sitting on the bed, but instead of the somber mood that they'd had the night before, they had been laughing and joking. Most of the dream was just them getting along like great old friends, with hugs, and touches from time to time. It had been JJ, in the dream, who reached out to tuck Emily's hair behind her ears. When Emily had leant in to kiss the blonde, JJ had leant in too. Emily's lips had brushed JJ's lips, softly, and tentatively. JJ had reached up and put her hand on Emily's cheek and leant in for another kiss…and the alarm had beeped. Still the dream left her with a warm, happy feeling inside. It also left her with little doubt about whether or not her feelings for JJ were simply platonic. They weren't and she could tell. The problems from the night before still remained. And the fact that she really wasn't ready to like a girl, that hadn't changed either. It seemed that whether or not she was ready to, she did.

Emily reached sleepily for the phone.

"Hello?" She mumbled.

"Emily, it's Hotch. Another child was taken. A little boy. Only six years old. He was taken from his house this time. We need to catch this guy. Can you be at the precinct in half an hour?"

Emily looked at her watch and groaned. It was only 6:30 a.m. "Yeah Hotch, I'll be there." She said hanging up her phone. She rolled over, and remembered the night before. She smiled at the thought of hugging JJ. She smiled wider when she remembered how it had felt to kiss her in her dream. It had felt so vivid. She remembered Hotch's words. There was another boy who was missing. She needed to focus on the case. She jumped out of bed and hurried to get ready and out of her room so she could get to the precinct on time. She rushed down the hallway and almost bumped into JJ in her hurry. They stood there standing, looking at each other for a minute before JJ broke the silence.

"I thought you could remember to brush your hair." JJ said, grinning and trying to flatten Emily's hair with her hands.

"Oh crap, really? I forgot to brush my hair?" Emily responded, half distracted by JJ's hands running through her hair.

"Here," JJ said pulling Emily into her room. Emily watched her walk quickly to the bathroom and grab a hairbrush which she handed to Emily. Emily ran the brush through her hair.

"There. How's that?" She asked.

"You look beautiful," JJ smiled at her.

Emily felt her heart melt slightly at that smile. _Get a grip Emily! Not at work! Not around the colleagues! Ok so you like JJ. Keep it to yourself! If the others figure it out…The others can't figure it out! And if JJ finds out it'll kill your friendship with her. Just shut out the feelings while you're at work. Ok?_

The two women headed to the parking lot of the hotel and drove over to the precinct together. Emily continuously glanced at JJ, who was driving. _Wow she looks pretty this morning._ She thought to herself. _At work!_ She reminded herself. They didn't talk really on the way to work, but it wasn't the awkward silence that it had been the day before. Instead it was a focused silence. Emily knew that JJ was focusing on the case, and Emily began reviewing everything she'd seen the day before. Every item she'd pulled out of the boxes. Every T-ball trophy on the shelf of the perfectly preserved eight-year-old's room. What could she have missed? What could tip her off to whether or not the boy might have met his abductor before he was kidnapped? Was there anything she'd missed? She didn't think so, but she couldn't be positive. She'd been kind of distracted yesterday. As the queen of compartmentalization she'd failed yesterday.

Emily glanced back at JJ again, but forced herself to look away, trying to stay focused. They arrived at the precinct with a few minutes to spare before Hotch was expecting them, so they both grabbed a cup of coffee. Emily sipped her black coffee as she watched JJ pour milk into hers. _Wow, she even does that gracefully._ Emily thought. _Ok, how did you not notice that you liked her before?_ It seemed like all of a sudden, since she'd admitted it to herself, all of these thoughts about JJ began to flood her mind. She knew that her feelings must have been building for a while. Certainly longer than the past two days. She guessed that they'd just been more repressed. Maybe the conversation with Garcia had just made her face the facts. Emily sighed. _Garcia. _She thought. She'd have to tell Garcia something, and she doubted that she could lie convincingly to her stubborn and persistent friend, the only person so far who seemed to have noticed anything between her and JJ. Well maybe she could talk to Garcia. Much as she was the queen of gossip, she also knew what to share and what to keep to herself. It might be nice to have someone to talk to, someone who knew JJ. Someone who could maybe help Emily deal with her feelings and someone who could cover for her with the rest of the team. Emily wasn't really sure that she was ready to tell anybody. She was just adjusting to the idea herself, but in a team full of profilers she was going to need all the help she could get. She made a mental note to call Garcia from the hotel that night.

Emily finished gulping down her mediocre at best cup of coffee and headed over to where she'd spotted Hotch. The rest of the team was filing in too. Soon the whole team was gathered around Hotch and the local sheriff who were giving a report of what they knew. Then the assignments for the morning were handed out. Emily was to accompany Morgan to the newest crime scene to look it over while JJ and Rossi tagged along to talk with the parents. Emily was both happy and sad about that. She was torn between wanting to be paired with JJ, and not wanting the team to figure out the thoughts that were running through her head. She wasn't sure that being around JJ was the best way to keep both the rest of the team and JJ herself in the dark about her feelings.

The four of them headed to an SUV. Morgan drove while Rossi took shotgun, leaving the two women to sit in the back together. Emily felt her heart rate quicken. She got in and looked out the window, leaving her eyes firmly glued there.

"What's up with you this morning, Prentiss? You're being awfully quiet this morning. You barely said two words during the meeting." Morgan prodded her.

"There wasn't much to say. Another kid is missing, and to the best of our knowledge there are still another eighteen children on top of that who are being tortured right now." Emily replied.

The SUV grew silent. Emily knew that the other three were now thinking about what unknown torments the children were suffering through at that very moment. If the two bodies of the other boys were anything to judge by, they were being burnt with cigarettes, electrocuted, cut, and sodomized, among other things. Emily couldn't imagine surviving through such a cruel existence for fourteen years.

Each of them still lost in their own thoughts, they pulled up at the house. They got out together and JJ and Rossi rang the bell. A woman with a tear streaked face answered the door.

"Hello ma'am, I'm SSA Rossi with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, and these are my teammates Agents Jareau, Morgan, and Prentiss." Rossi said, flashing his badge and gesturing to each person in turn. "Do you mind if we come in and ask you a couple of questions while our colleagues look around? We're going to do everything we can to get your son back to you as soon as possible."

The frail woman nodded meekly and led them into the living room. Introductions were made again to a tall, thin man with dark hair. He was the uncle it turned out, the father having died a couple of years before in a car accident. "Jay's bedroom was upstairs. Second door on the left." He offered, when Morgan asked.

Morgan left the room and headed up the stairs and Emily followed right behind him, sparing one quick glance at JJ.

"Some families have all of the worst luck." Morgan said sadly as he opened the door to the room and ducking under the crime scene tape.

Emily nodded in agreement but said nothing. She began looking around the room. It didn't resemble either of the rooms from the day before. This room still felt lived in, which just reminded her how fresh the crime scene was. The bed was unmade and there was even a small pile of clothes thrown on the floor. Emily hoped and prayed that they'd bring this boy home before his room had the chance to become a shrine. She began combing over the room as Morgan did his "get into the mind of the unsub and see how they got in and out" thing that he seemed to excel at. The window was an obvious choice for an entry point. There was a tall, but easily climbable tree directly outside the window. The pair continued their search, occasionally voicing a thought, but generally remaining silent. Emily lifted the pillow in her gloved hand and sniffed. A familiar scent wafted towards her.

"Chloroform." She said. "He could have carried the kid right out of the front door and he wouldn't have made a noise." She scowled at the pillow, then, looking slightly past it, noticed something lying twisted in the sheets. It was the same color as the sheets and she almost missed it. "Morgan!" She called, somewhat excitedly. It was a small piece of paper, but it had writing on it, it was the address of the house, the name of the boy and then some notes scribbled in what appeared to be some sort of a code. Looked like a job for the genius mind of Dr. Reid. Morgan came over and looked at what Emily was now holding in her hands.

"Nice work, Prentiss! I guess silence suits you." He joked as she bagged the evidence. Emily glared, but lightheartedly. She felt better for having found something that might actually be useful in solving the case. Maybe she had been distracted by JJ too much the day before, but at least today she'd found something. Something out of place. Something that the unsub seemed to have left behind.

After thoroughly searching and profiling the room Emily and Morgan headed back downstairs to find JJ and Rossi waiting for them. Emily caught JJ's eye briefly as she descended and almost tripped. "Walk much?" Morgan teased. _Dammit! I have to be more careful!_ Emily scolded herself. She glanced back at JJ and thought she detected a small smile. When Emily presented what she'd found in the bedroom, there was no mistaking the look on JJ's face, because a definite smile played across it. Emily's heart jumped. She felt happy at having been able to make that smile appear on JJ's face, even if it was case related.

"Good work." Rossi was saying to her, but Emily was barely listening.

"Thank you, sir." She managed to mumble, before the four of them headed back to the precinct, her thoughts still on JJ.


	10. Chapter 10

It was late by the time they got back to their hotel. The team had all grabbed food together after a tiring, but productive day. They were only back at the hotel to grab a couple hours of sleep before they would head back and continue working, so they could continue to be productive. A tired agent could also be a sloppy agent, and their job couldn't afford them being sloppy. The paper that Emily had found had indeed been helpful. They now had a strong suspect in mind and had made major progress towards trying to locate him. It was the uncle of the first boy taken. Hotch and Reid had revisited that house in the morning and had taken a look around the whole house rather than just the bedroom. They had interviewed the parents again after discovering the note. The code had had a detailed list of what the boy who was most recently taken did in a day. In the note was also written some notes about the first boy that was taken and was now lying in the county morgue. The unsub seemed to express some guilt for that boy, and that boy alone. The note had been written on light blue paper, that Emily remembered she had seen a pad of in the first boy's room. It had turned out to be a pad of paper that the uncle had given him. They had discovered that, after having a rough childhood in and out of foster care and juvenile detention centers (mostly for petty larceny and some small cases of arson), Henry, the father's brother, had spent some time in and out of a mental hospital. He had seemed to "get normal" as the father had put it, he had even gotten married briefly, but his son had died and he'd disappeared. That had happened about a month before the first boy was taken, so had obviously been the stressor. That coupled by a hard upbringing and mental illness had been all that was needed to turn this man into a monster. Emily was always amazed at how even within the same family two people exposed to similar circumstances could take such different paths in life. The father of the first boy taken, had chosen to become a minister and frequently visited foster homes to talk to the children and help ensure their safety. He had said that he was aware that social workers were often overloaded with cases, and he liked to think that he could be just one more person that would listen to the voices of the foster children, looking out for any cries for help. Having been in their position once, he was probably rather adept at it.

Morgan grabbed Emily's arm as they were heading down the hallway, and made her wait until the rest of the team was out of earshot.

"Nice work today Prentiss. You really helped break the case, finding that paper." He said.

"Thanks," she said, gazing longingly down the hallway to where her bed was calling her name.

"You seemed a little off though. And don't tell me it was the case darlin' cause I know you. Cases effect you, but not in the ways you presented today. Is there anything going on with you I should know about?"

Morgan had Emily's full attention now. She was sure he knew. But how had he figured it out so soon? She decided to play it coy.

"Oh you know, it was that I got paired with you and just got distracted by those sexy ab muscles rippling under your shirt." She replied grinning and batting her eyes at him. Morgan struck a pose, and laughed.

"Yeah, right. Sure." He said. "You know these muscles never seemed to distract you that much before. Why the sudden change? I'd be more apt to believe that it was Hotch's muscles that had you distracted you know."

So he didn't know. At least not yet. Good. "I don't understand why everyone seems to think I have a thing for Hotch. Just because I knew him before I came to this job, doesn't automatically mean that I'm interested in him." She tried to defend herself.

"Oh come on, who're you trying to kid. You totally had a crush on him before. I could totally tell. Don't even try to hide it." Morgan teased.

Emily blushed slightly and rolled her eyes. "Yeah well, for your information, I had a dream about a team member last night, and it was not Hotch. And that's all you're getting out of me." With that Emily turned and saw JJ stop dead in her tracks. She'd obviously been coming back to talk to one of them and had overheard Emily's last statement. _Shit!_ Emily thought.

"Who? Rossi? No offense, but if that's the case I can't say much for your case in men." Emily heard Morgan joke behind her, but she wasn't really listening.

"Maybe I should come back later." JJ said, starting to turn around.

"No, it's ok." Morgan said. "Maybe you can help me get it out of Emily who this dream was about."

JJ glared at Morgan playfully. "I think that's Emily's business. I've told you before, I will not help you torment our teammates."

"Aw come on ladies, how's a guy supposed to have any fun around here." He complained, still grinning devilishly. He was met with silence. "Fine, then. This sexy man is getting himself to bed. Maybe you'll dream about me tonight. I've got to be a step up from Rossi." He teased, unable to resist, and winked at Emily as he headed off down the hallway.

"Who says it wasn't you last night?" Emily called after him, and immediately regretted it when she remembered who was standing next to her.

"Did you have a dream about Derek last night?" JJ asked softly. Emily looked at her friend, trying to read what she was feeling in her face. Whatever it was, JJ was doing a good job of masking it.

"No. I didn't." Emily replied truthfully.

JJ started down the hallway, and Emily followed after her.

"I went to your room, but nobody answered and then I heard Morgan's voice so I came back down the hall to see if you were here talking to him, which you were…" JJ trailed off.

"He was just teasing me. I should thank you for rescuing me really." Emily tried to smile at her friend, but she felt insecure. That was weird. She never felt that insecure.

JJ smiled at her.

"So why'd you go to my room?" Emily voiced what she was wondering.

JJ blushed and turned her face away from Emily. "Nothing really. I just wanted to talk. And I wanted to say congrats on the great job today. I told you we'd get the guy."

"We haven't gotten him yet." Emily reminded her.

"Yeah, but we know who he probably is. And that's something. We know he's still in town too. Or nearby at any rate. You shouldn't sell yourself short. You really deserve some kudos for spotting that paper. The crime scene techs missed it, after all. If you hadn't spotted it we might never have found it and if you hadn't remembered seeing it in the boy's room…" JJ trailed off again. "You did great." She repeated herself.

Emily smiled at JJ's words. She was obviously happy that they'd had a break in the case, and she was willing to give Emily credit for it. "So did you want to talk about anything else?" Emily asked opening the door to her room, and holding it open, inviting JJ to walk through it. JJ did so, as she said, "I dunno. Nothing in particular really. I just wanted to hang out a little. If that's ok." Emily noticed JJ's cheeks flush again.

"Yeah sure." Emily was torn. She wanted to spend more time with JJ, but she was concerned that JJ would catch on about her true feelings. Emily couldn't have that. She really didn't want to do anything that might jeopardize her friendship with JJ. Emily also was anxious to call Garcia. She knew that she needed to talk to someone about her feelings or she might explode.

"So who was your dream about?" JJ asked. Emily saw her fidget with the sleeves of her jacket. _Is she nervous for some reason? Oh God, has she figured out that the dream was about her and now she's going to be awkward around me? Or worse, does she know I like her and she wanted to talk to tell me that she's not even remotely interested? Oh God!_ Emily looked imploringly at the ceiling, then back at JJ.

"It was just about a team member, but it wasn't anything special. It was just a dream." Emily said. She took a seat at the end of her bed as JJ took a seat in one of the two chairs.

"Yeah, but which team member?" JJ asked, finally making eye contact for the first time since she'd come down the hall.

Emily swallowed hard. She wasn't sure she could lie to JJ, looking into those gorgeous blue eyes. She knew, however, that JJ could be as persistent as Garcia sometimes, so she probably wasn't going to be able to dodge the question either. Emily swallowed hard again, then sighed.

"You," she said quietly, almost a whisper, as she looked down at her lap.

JJ said nothing for at least a minute, and Emily was afraid that she'd really figured out her secret this time. Finally, Emily heard JJ get up, she assumed to leave, but then, the next thing Emily knew JJ was sitting next to her on the bed. JJ's hand came up and turned Emily's face to look at her.

"Me?" JJ asked in a small voice. Then a little louder she continued, "What about me?"

Emily's head was spinning. She had to come up with something and fast. "I don't know. I don't remember it that clearly. We were just hanging out I think. Like we were last night. It was nothing big. Just two friends hanging out and laughing." _And kissing_, her thoughts continued for her.

JJ seemed satisfied with the response. "Oh. Right. I've had dreams like those. They're kinda nice. Just hanging out with your friends dreams. They usually put me in a good mood. There's nothing more comforting than your friends at times, is there?" JJ smiled at Emily, but she seemed a little awkward.

"You ok?" Emily asked, genuinely concerned.

JJ looked a little taken aback at the question. "Yeah. I'm fine. Why?"

Emily shrugged. "I don't know. You seemed a little…not yourself or something." She paused, then let out a small laugh. "Ha. That's almost exactly what Morgan accused me of earlier. Maybe it's catching." She grinned a little. She saw JJ smile too, and she thought she saw a faint blush rise in her cheeks.

"Yeah, must be." She replied. "Well I should probably get some rest. God knows we have to be up in not that long." JJ said standing up. Emily stood up as well, and on impulse gave JJ a hug.

"Thanks." She said.

"What for?" JJ asked, sounding surprised.

"For telling me I did a good job today. It's nice to hear sometimes." Emily replied, and found that she meant it. She broke the hug before it could get awkward. She walked with JJ to the door and said goodnight, after which she closed and locked the door. Then she got ready for bed. When she was in bed and sure that JJ couldn't possibly be anywhere in earshot, she pulled out her phone and dialed Garcia.

"Queen of all that is wise and all that is wonderful speaking. What can I do for you tonight my dear?" She answered.

"Garcia…" Emily paused, unsure of what to say and how to say it.

"Yes?" Garcia prompted.

"Garcia…" Emily repeated. _Better get this over with Em!_ "You were right."

"I know I was. I'm always right…What was I right about specifically though?"

Emily smiled. Garcia had that way. "You were right that….that…well, that I like JJ."

There was silence at the other end of the phone line and Emily could hear her heart beating through her chest. She was nervous, and Garcia's silence wasn't helping matters.

"Come again?" Garcia finally managed to get out.

Emily breathed deeply then said, "I like JJ."

"Ok. Now when you say like, you mean…" Garcia trailed off leaving Emily to finish the sentence.

"I mean I have an interest in her that is more than strictly platonic." Emily answered. She was so nervous she was nauseous. Her stomach was in knots. She felt herself shaking. On the one hand, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted when she'd said it aloud. On the other hand, now somebody else knew, so the odds of someone else finding out just increased exponentially.

There was another silence at the other end of the phone line. "So you have the hots for her." Garcia finally said matter-of-factly. "I knew it. I knew there was something going on between you two." Emily heard Garcia giggle in the background. "Of course I wasn't sure it was quite this juicy. I mean, wow. Does she have the hots for you too? I bet she does."

Emily sighed. "Garcia this is not juicy. You can't tell anyone! And no. I'd be willing to bet a month's pay that she has absolutely no feelings towards me besides those of a friend, and if she ever found out I felt more than that I'm sure she'd freak and it'd kill our friendship. Please don't tell anyone Garcia!" She pleaded.

"It is too juicy." Garcia responded. "But no, I won't tell anyone sweetie. Come on! Who do you take me for? You know you work with a bunch of profilers though, right?"

"Right." Emily said, sighing again. "That's part of why I told you. I was hoping maybe you could, you know, work your magic charm and help me cover this up?"

"Honey this isn't a computer based romance. I'm not sure how much help I can be. But I'll do what I can." Garcia replied. "And about that month's worth of pay. Let me call you back."

"Garcia! Hey! No! What're you going to do? Garcia?" Emily listened, but heard nothing at the other end of the phone line. "Shit!" She swore as she hung up. She flopped down in the bed and stared at the ceiling. She didn't know what to do besides wait for Garcia to call her back. She knew that Garcia was calling JJ and she was powerless to stop her. "Fuck!" She said to herself. Her heart was racing.

After what seemed like ages, but in reality was only about ten minutes Emily heard her phone rang. She grabbed it and pulled it open, knowing who it was.

"Garcia what'd you do? What'd you say to her?" Emily was talking a mile a minute and she knew it, but she was too anxious to slow down.

"Relax, dear. I didn't tell her anything. I just needed to talk to her. That's all. Calm down." Garcia said, sounding smug. "I think that you'd have a more positive reception from her than you think you will. And now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go to sleep. It's past midnight you know."

"Garcia? Wait, what do you mean? Garcia?" Emily was confused. Did Garcia mean that JJ liked her? Or was she just saying that Emily wouldn't lose JJ as a friend if JJ found out that she liked her?

"Get some rest sweetie!" There was a pause before Garcia added, "Oh, and Emily?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you. You know that right? I don't care who you love. You're still my friend. Thanks for telling me." Garcia said.

"Thanks Garcia." Emily said. Breathing out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She hung up the phone and lay back looking at the ceiling. She seemed to be doing that a lot recently. What had Garcia meant though? And what had she told JJ? _Well,_ she thought, _I'll probably find out soon enough._ With that, she closed her eyes and drifted into confusing dreams.


	11. Chapter 11

JJ lay in bed unable to sleep. Her brain kept going over the conversation she'd just had with Garcia. As soon as she'd answered Garcia had started right into the conversation, no greetings or anything.

"So Jayj, darling, how are things? Anything interesting happening?" Garcia had asked.

"Well Emily made a really important discovery today that helped break the case, but you knew that Garcia." JJ had replied.

"So I did, so I did." Garcia had continued. "But I was thinking more non-work things. You were off the other night at the bar. I wanted to check in 'cause I never got a chance to talk to you before you had to leave for the case."

"Yeah, I mean no, I mean I'm fine." JJ had managed. "I just, I dunno. Things have been a little weird recently. I can't explain it or describe it. And then Emily…"

"Emily what? How is Em doing?" Garcia asked.

"She's fine. She's great." _She's gorgeous_. Her brain had continued for her. She'd told it to shut up. "She's amazing as always. I don't know how she stays so focused. Although…"

"Although what?" Garcia had prodded.

"Although she did kind of break down a little in my room the other night. Well, not really a break down, she just expressed her anxiety over the case for once. And then…"

"And then what?"

"Ok, well it sounds dumb, but I just got this urge to kiss her. I mean, on the forehead of course. And…and, well, and shekissedmycheek." JJ had rushed through the last sentence, making the words all sound like one. She had felt her cheeks flush, and had been glad that her friend couldn't see her.

"Oh yeah?" Garcia had said. Perhaps JJ had imagined it, but she would have sworn that it sounded like Garcia was grinning.

"Oh shut up Garcia. It was nothing like that." JJ had said more adamantly than she believed.

"I didn't say anything darling, though your denial speaks volumes. So what's going on with you and Emily? And don't bother lying to me Jayj, you know it doesn't work. I'm far too brilliant for that." JJ had become sure that Garcia was grinning with that statement.

_Shit! _ She'd thought to herself. "I don't know." She had replied honestly. "Recently I've just…I dunno. I've been thinking about her a lot I guess. And about our friendship. She's a good friend. I don't want anything to change that."

"But…"

"But I go to bed at night thinking about her, and wake up in the morning thinking about her, and sometimes when I'm with her or when I'm thinking about her my stomach ties in knots and I don't know why and it's making me insane and I don't know what to do about it." JJ had been aware that she was rambling, but it had felt so good to talk to someone that she hadn't been able to stop herself.

"You don't know why? JJ, honey, really? You like her, sweetie." Garcia had said.

The voice at the back of JJ's head had said simply "I told you so," but JJ's conscious had been shocked. She couldn't like Emily. Not how Garcia meant. Emily was a girl. And Emily was a colleague, and JJ didn't go for her colleagues. On the other hand…

"I can't like Emily, Garcia. I'm straight. Remember? Remember me making out with the guy in the bar?"

"Uh-huh. Yeah. So have you heard of this thing, it's called denial. And before you make a crack about it being a river in Egypt, it's spelled D-E-N-I-A-L. Look it up honey cause you've got it. But hey, at least you have good taste in women."

"De-ni-al," JJ had pretended to be sounding out the word. "Nope never heard of it. But seriously Garcia, I don't. I can't. And if the team found out…I can't." JJ felt herself losing the argument both with Garcia and with herself. She wasn't ready to admit that she might like Emily, not even to herself, but it looked more and more like she didn't have a choice. "Garcia…please don't tell anyone." She'd said in a small voice.

"Seriously who do you take me for? You're my best friend Jayj. Your secrets are my secrets. My lips are sealed. By the way, was that an admission?"

"No. It wasn't." JJ had said adamantly.

"If you say so. But Jayj? You should know that I love you no matter what. It doesn't make a difference to me who you love or which team you play for…and honey? It seems like you play for both. But you'll always just be JJ to me." Garcia had said, speaking in a serious tone for the first time that night.

At hearing those words, that JJ hadn't even been aware that she needed to hear, JJ felt a huge weight lift off of her shoulders. She felt a warmth fill her at hearing that one of her dearest friends would always love her, no matter if…if maybe she liked someone who she never thought she'd like in a romantic way.

The two friends had hung up shortly after that, but JJ couldn't stop replaying the conversation over and over again in her head. She kept hearing Garcia's words, "You like her, sweetie." Every time she replayed them, she believed them more. She knew they were right, but hadn't been able to accept them. She knew that the voice in the back of her head had been telling her that for days, but she couldn't bring herself to listen. Now though, that someone else had said it, and that someone else knew…It was almost as if it made it more real to her.

A terrifying thought struck her suddenly. _If Garcia knows, does that mean that other team members know? Oh my God! What if the rest of the team finds out? What if Emily finds out? That'd be a great way to kill the friendship! And if the rest of the team knew? JJ you'd never live it down._ JJ's stomach tied in knots. She knew she needed to get some sleep, but her racing mind and her anxiety was keeping her awake. What was she gonna do? She had no idea.

JJ lay in bed staring at the ceiling for a good half an hour before she finally drifted off into a restless sleep, tossing and turning until her alarm woke her. She groaned, knowing that she was not exactly in the best shape to give the press release she was supposed to give in two hours. Sometimes she wished she didn't have to face the cameras, the news crews, and the reporters, but she was the visible face of the BAU, so she had no choice.

Garcia's words from the night before popped into her head and she felt knots form in her stomach at the knowledge that she was going to see Emily within the hour. JJ dragged herself out of bed and began to get ready for the day. When she left her room she had to resist the urge to head to Emily's room to see if she was still there. She didn't know what she'd say if she did go to Emily's room. She'd meet her in the parking lot anyway. She headed towards the parking lot, snacking on a bagel she'd bought last night for a quick breakfast to have this morning. When she reached the parking lot she looked to the SUV and saw Emily standing there waiting for her. The morning sun illuminating her face and making her hair shine brilliantly. JJ stopped in her tracks. She felt her heart rise to her throat. She just stood there in awe of how beautiful Emily looked. She saw Emily notice her and wave. JJ swallowed hard, trying to force her heart back down to her chest. She took two deep breaths and started walking towards the SUV again. When she got there Emily smiled at her. JJ felt her heart flutter. She couldn't help herself, she smiled back.

"You driving or am I?" Emily asked.

"You can." JJ said quietly. She wasn't sure she trusted herself to drive.

"Let's hope we catch this guy today, yeah?" Emily was saying as she and JJ got in the car. JJ was hardly listening. She was too distracted by the thoughts running through her head. There she was sitting mere inches away from Emily, and she felt like the atmosphere in the car was suddenly electrically charged. She wondered if Emily could feel it too, but if she could she was hiding it well.

Emily started the car and continued to talk. It wasn't about much. She just commented about how unseasonably warm it felt for a Midwestern October and how nice it was to see the sun. JJ tuned out and her brain became tangled in her own confusing thoughts and feelings. Now that she was in Emily's presence she wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch her, to be in physical contact with her somehow. She briefly wondered if she put her arm on the arm rest between the two would Emily pull her arm away or leave it there. She wasn't sure she trusted herself to hide her feelings if they did touch though. It was all JJ could do to not stare continuously at her friend. She was contemplating putting her arm on the arm rest anyway, when Emily snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Earth to JJ." She said, nudging JJ in the arm. JJ smiled remembering the other day when Emily had said those same words to her. It was those words that had started her on the path towards the realization that maybe she felt more for Emily than just platonic feelings.

"Sorry," she responded, blushing slightly. "I guess I was off in my own world again."

"So what were you thinking about this time?" Emily asked. JJ couldn't quite recognize the look on Emily's face. It looked, well she could have been wrong, but it looked almost hopeful, like Emily was hoping JJ to answer something in particular. _But what?_ JJ wondered.

"Nothing really. The case." JJ lied. It's not like she could say, "how amazing you are and how I just want to touch you and hold you." JJ rolled her eyes at herself. _Don't think like that! Not around Emily and not at work! Get it together!_

"Oh." Emily said softly. Again, it could have been JJ's imagination, but she thought Emily looked almost disappointed.

"Why? Was I supposed to be thinking something in particular?" JJ asked as she put her arm on the arm rest, so that it lay next to Emily's. JJ felt her arm tingle upon feeling the skin of the older agent. Her heart fluttered.

JJ noticed Emily's cheeks flush slightly. "No, of course not. I assumed work, I just wanted to check." Emily replied.

"Oh." JJ echoed Emily's earlier response.

"Hey, can I…could I possibly…could we talk later?" Emily said.

"Umm…yeah. Sure. Tonight back at the hotel?" JJ said hesitantly. She was suddenly nervous. Had Emily noticed her strange behavior? Had she guessed what was causing it? Did she want to talk to JJ to tell her she wasn't interested? JJ's stomach twisted into knots. She removed her arm from the armrest, not wanting to make the other agent uncomfortable.

"Yeah sounds fine." Emily replied. JJ noticed Emily glance down briefly at where JJ's arm had been a moment before, but she said nothing.

The two women pulled into the parking lot of the precinct to see the rest of the team coming out.

"Are we late?" Emily voiced the question that JJ had been thinking.

"I don't think so." JJ responded.

Hotch came straight towards them as they stepped out of their vehicle. "We've got a location. Garcia called this morning. Morgan just texted you the address. Meet us there." He said.

Emily and JJ got right back in the SUV as JJ's cell phone indicated an incoming message. She handed her phone to Emily who put the address into the SUV's GPS system. The tension that JJ had felt in the SUV on the way to the precinct had vanished. They were both completely focused on work. It was their job, and JJ knew that this was crunch time. The press release would be put on hold. If they could get this guy before she had to give it, it would make her job that much easier.


	12. Chapter 12

They'd got him. They'd got the guy. He'd had an underground hideout in a tornado shelter that he'd expanded. It had become a series of holding cells essentially for the boys and girls he'd taken, and a large torture chamber. JJ had almost thrown up when she'd seen the blood splattered on the walls, and her heart had broken when she'd seen the looks on the children's faces. The oldest one was twenty, a girl who had been there for thirteen years never seeing daylight, and the youngest, the six year old boy that was taken the day before. It was clear from the looks on their faces who had been there the longest. Their faces were empty, their eyes hollow, their bodies scarred and thin. The newest arrivals still had hope glistening in their eyes. They had retrieved all but two children, who the unsub claimed he'd never taken to begin with. JJ knew that some of the children would never recover. Most of them, she knew, would carry, not only the physical scars, but also the emotional ones for their ordeal. JJ felt for them, but knew that she could never truly relate, and to be honest, she didn't want to be able to. The team had done well. Hotch had worked his magic and talked the unsub down from what could have been a lethal situation. Hotch was always brilliant like that, that's part of why the team respected him so much.

They were on the plane heading back to Virginia. JJ was starting the endless paperwork she had to fill out after every case, when she suddenly became aware of Emily standing next to her. She looked up.

"Mind if I sit?" Emily asked.

"No," JJ replied scooting over in the seat to make room for her friend. JJ felt her heart rate quicken as Emily sat down next to her. She could feel the warmth from the other agent's body. "What's up?" She asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"I was just thinking about the case. We really solved this one quickly. But it wasn't really that quickly. All those lives ruined by this one sick man. Why weren't we called in sooner? It just frustrates me that even though we found all the rest technically alive, some of them for all intensive purposes died in that storm shelter."

JJ looked at her friend and saw the pain and the sympathy in her eyes. She put a comforting arm around her. "But not all of them lost their livelihoods down there. Some of the younger ones will be able to recover. And think about Jay. He was only down there a day. The wounds he has will heal." It was funny how she could never remember that at night when the cases haunted her, but here talking to Emily, comforting her, it was suddenly so clear. "Let's go out for a drink tonight when we get back." She said suddenly, surprising herself even by her forwardness. _Well it only seemed forward if it was a date…which it wasn't. It was just you inviting your friend out for a drink after an emotionally trying case._ JJ reminded herself.

"I don't know that I have the energy to go out. How about you come to my place for a drink instead?" Emily counter offered.

JJ became nervous at the prospect of going to Emily's house. What if she couldn't hide her feelings? After briefly weighing the pros and cons JJ nodded. "Yeah, ok." JJ removed her arm from around Emily and turned back to her paperwork. Emily sat there in silence for a few minutes then got up. JJ looked up to see Emily wonder over and sit down across from Morgan who was playing cards with Reid. She was sorry to have her friend leave her side, but given that the rest of the team was around she figured it was for the best. She was sure that the trained profilers around her could see right through her. She looked back to her paperwork and forced herself to focus.

JJ stood in her room in front of the mirror. She'd been trying to choose an outfit to wear for the past half hour. She felt like a high school girl with an adolescent crush getting ready for a first date. There were at least a dozen outfits discarded on her bed. She needed to look casual, and comfortable, but she wanted to look nice. She couldn't let her clothes reveal that she wanted, or rather maybe wanted this to be a date.

She sighed. She felt like every outfit she tried on either made her look like crap or made it seem like she was trying too hard. She flopped down on the edge of her bed. Did she really want this to be a date? Could she really deal with liking a girl? Let alone dating one? And dating a colleague at that? _NO._ She told herself firmly. _You don't really want to date Emily. You two are much better off as friends!_ She looked at the clothes strewn on her bed, and grabbed a pair of jeans and a baby blue T-shirt that she knew accented the colour of her eyes. She looked in the mirror. It looked like an outfit she'd wear to hang out with anyone. She put on her shoes and headed out the door. She was nervous...really nervous, but she was also looking forward to just spending some time with Emily and not having a case to worry about. _I just hope that I can hide my true feelings_, she thought as she started the ignition and headed to Emily's house.


	13. Chapter 13

Emily looked at herself in the full length mirror. She sighed. It looked like she was trying too hard. She really couldn't let JJ find out her true feelings towards the blonde. She looked at the clothes strewn around the room. _Better stick with the old standard jeans and a T-shirt_. She thought to herself. She grabbed a pair of jeans off the floor and a purple v-neck tank off the bed and changed. She checked the mirror again. _It'll have to do._ She thought. Just then she heard her doorbell ring. Emily glanced at her clock. _Shit, she's early._ Emily had wanted to have some snacks out when JJ arrived. Just some popcorn or something to nibble. She sighed again and headed to the door.

When she opened the door her breath caught. JJ looked gorgeous. _I bet she never has to try to look good_. Emily thought enviously. She was wearing the top that accentuated her eyes, Emily noticed. She loved it when JJ wore that top. Emily wondered briefly when exactly she'd started loving JJ wearing that top, since she'd never actively thought it before. "Well you look great as always." Emily said and then instantly regretted it as she let JJ into her house. _Stupid! That's not how to not let her know that you like her._ Emily noticed a blush start in JJ's cheeks. Emily changed the subject. "You hungry at all?"

"Not really. Maybe a little." JJ replied.

"I'll make some popcorn." Emily said, leading the way into her kitchen.

JJ sat down at the small square table. Emily grabbed the popcorn out of a cupboard and stuck it in the microwave, then she turned to find JJ looking around her kitchen. She saw JJ's eyes linger on the postcards on the fridge. "They're from friends I have overseas. Some of the diplomat's kids, it turns out, actually go on to become diplomats themselves and continue traveling around the world. They're mostly from my friend Kat." She explained. JJ nodded. Emily took a seat across from JJ and they sat in awkward silence as the popcorn started to pop.

"You get to see her ever?" JJ asked breaking the silence.

"Not really. She's off in Kenya at the moment, in Nairobi." Emily replied.

"Oh…" JJ said, and it looked like she wanted to say more, but she stopped herself.

"What?" Emily inquired.

"Nothing. It was nothing. Just a stupid thought." JJ said, her face blushing.

Emily gave her a skeptical look that Garcia would've been proud of. "So tell me anyway. I like stupid thoughts." She encouraged her friend. She wanted the silence to stay filled. She was afraid of what she might blurt out if the silence stayed too long. Emily didn't do well with awkward silences. She always felt like it was her responsibility to fill them. It was probably part of the ever present need to play a good little hostess and converse with everybody as a diplomat's daughter when she was growing up.

"It was really nothing." JJ insisted.

Another awkward silence fell on the pair, interrupted by the beeping of the microwave signaling that the popcorn was ready. Emily hopped up, a bit faster than she meant and accidently knocked over her chair. JJ jumped slightly, then stood up and went to Emily's side and helped her pick up the chair. Emily was intensely aware of JJ standing close to her. She felt herself getting goosebumps. She remembered the popcorn and turned too fast to get away from what could quickly become and even more awkward situation and she hit her temple right on the cupboard door she'd left open when she'd grabbed the popcorn. Pain shot through her head and she put her hand up to try to push the pain away.

"Shit!" She swore.

Even though her eyes were closed she could hear and feel JJ approach her. Emily's back was pressed against the counter and she opened one eye to see JJ standing a foot away.

"Oh my God! Are you ok? Em? That had to hurt like hell." JJ was saying.

"Yeah, it did." Emily said, though the pain seemed secondary to the feelings that JJ was evoking in her right at that moment, being so close to her.

"Let me get some ice." JJ said.

"There should be a blue icepack in the freezer." Emily informed her. JJ was digging through the freezer and after a minute pulled out the icepack with a triumphant look.

"Where's a dishtowel to wrap it in?" JJ asked.

"Over there." Emily said pointing to a drawer in the corner of the kitchen. JJ opened the drawer and grabbed one, then she went back over to Emily and pressed the ice against Emily's temple.

Emily became acutely aware of how close JJ was to her and she felt her stomach began to flutter. JJ's body was almost touching hers and her face was only inches away. JJ was looking at her with a look of concern, and then as Emily looked into those blue eyes, feeling like she was getting lost in them, she thought she saw JJ's face change ever so slightly. She couldn't quite put a finger on the emotion being displayed there, but it was more like curiosity and interest, and…No. It wasn't possible. Desire? _No._ Emily told herself firmly. _Definitely not desire. I think that's a little wishful thinking on your part. Or maybe you bumped your head a little too hard Em._

"Maybe you should sit down," JJ said softly.

Emily looked deeper into JJ's big blue eyes. She could feel herself losing the grip she had on her self control. "No, I'm ok." She said. She saw JJ move ever so slightly closer to her. She could feel JJ's body against her own now. The next thing Emily was aware of, she was kissing JJ. Or was JJ kissing her? She couldn't tell, and to be honest she didn't care. JJ's lips were even softer than Emily had imagined and JJ's hand, cold from holding the ice to her temple, was pressed against her cheek, holding her in the kiss. _As if you're going anywhere!_ Emily brought her left hand up and placed it in the curve of JJ's spine, pulling her closer to her. JJ's lips parted ever so slightly and Emily took the opportunity to run her tongue against them. JJ opened her mouth wider, allowing Emily's tongue entry. She tasted sweeter than Emily could have imagined. Emily could tell that JJ had used mouthwash before she'd come over. _Did she plan this? No, you dope. How could she have planned you hitting your head. Oh God!_ She thought as JJ's tongue massaged her own. _Just shut up and enjoy this._ Emily didn't want the kiss to end, but before she knew what was happening, JJ pulled away. She had a terrified look on her face.

"Em…oh God! Umm…look...I'm so sorry…I j-just….I wanted…I can't…Oh God!" JJ stammered, backing away slowly and shaking her head.

_Oh no! She didn't want this. I kissed her and she doesn't want this. Of course she doesn't want this! How could you be so stupid. Now she's probably never going to be able to look at you again, let alone talk to you! You're such an idiot! Oh God, and I bet now the whole office is going to find out and I'll never be able to live it down._ Emily closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Now that JJ wasn't so close anymore, the pounding in her head returned and she brought her hand up instinctually. _No, JJ's not the type to spread this around the office. But everyone will probably figure out something's up when she avoids me from now on. How could you be so stupid Emily?_ She opened her eyes. JJ's face still looked like she was in a state of shock.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to. I just…I'm sorry Jayj. Please don't look at me like that. I promise it won't happen again. I'm really sorry." The words came tumbling out of Emily's mouth before she could stop them.

"No, Em it's not your fault. I'm sorry. I-I should go." JJ said, looking away. Then turning to head for the door.

"Jayj…" Emily called after her. "JJ…" But she had nothing to add on to it. JJ paused for a moment at the door, and looked back apologetically, then left.

_Shit! What'd I do? And what the hell was she apologizing for? Oh fuck!_ Emily said to herself. She slammed the ice back into her temple and immediately regretted it as searing pain shot through her head again. She took a seat at the table again, berating herself for the evening's occurrences, the popcorn forgotten for the night.


	14. Chapter 14

JJ sat in her car outside of Emily's house trying to get her breathing and her shaking under control. _Oh shit! What did I do? Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! Why did you kiss her? How could you be so stupid? Did you see the look on her face? Shock! Total shock! And not in a good way! Shit! What if she tells someone on the team?...No. No. She wouldn't do that. She's not like that. Look why don't you just call Garcia. She always knows what to say. Oh, but I can't tell her. I can't tell anyone! Oh shit, I fucked up! Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! JJ you have to calm down. Breathe. Just try to act normal tomorrow and no one will be any the wiser. Except Emily, but hopefully she won't act weird either. Just breathe._

JJ realized that she wasn't going to be able to calm down enough to drive anywhere without a little help so she pulled out her cell and pressed four to speed dial Garcia.

"Hey there gorgeous, how're you doing tonight?" Garcia answered.

JJ froze. She didn't know what to say. She was torn between wanting to tell her friend and get her advice and not wanting to tell anybody ever how she'd made such a fool out of herself. "I-I'm fine. Sorry. I know it's late. D-did I wake you?" JJ knew she was failing at keeping the tremor out of her voice.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Garcia said ignoring the question. "You sound horrible. Are you ok? What happened? Talk to me babe."

JJ couldn't stop shaking. She wanted to cry. _What's wrong? What's wrong? I'm an idiot that's wrong._ "Nothing. I'm just…thinking about the poor kids from the case." She lied, unable to bring herself to tell her friend the truth.

"JJ you don't have to tell me if you really don't want to but don't lie to me darlin'. This is the Queen of Seeing Through B.S. you're talking to here. I believe that the case wasn't easy, but I don't believe you're calling me at eleven o'clock at night over it. What happened?"

JJ started to cry. She tried to fight it, but she couldn't help it. Tears escaped and ran down her cheeks. "What's wrong? What's wrong is that you were right and I do like Emily and I have no idea what to do about it and then I came over to her house tonight and she hit her head and I was putting ice on it for her and then I just kissed her and I don't know why I did it or what came over but I kissed her and I kept kissing her and it was not the type of kiss that you could pass off as a friendly kiss. It was a kiss kiss with tongue and everything and I know that sounds childish to say, but I don't know how else to describe it and when I realized what I was doing I pulled away and she just stood there looking shocked and I knew I'd fucked up and I've probably ruined our friendship together and so I basically ran out of the house and I've been sitting outside her house ever since and now I'm even fucking crying. And I'm sorry to lay this on you, I just didn't know who else to call and I'm fucking shaking too hard to drive home because I'm such a fucking idiot." JJ was rambling on and talking as fast as she could, but once she started she couldn't stop. She'd barely paused long enough to breathe.

"Oh sweetie! I'm sure you didn't ruin your friendship with Emily. No, I'm positive. You need to relax. Calm down. Breathe. Everything is gonna work out. Everything is gonna be fine. Trust me sweetie." Garcia said soothingly.

"I'm sorry, I can't. I want to, I really do, but I can't you didn't see the look on her face. You know what? I shouldn't have bothered you with this. I'm sorry. I'll let you go. It's late. I should get home. I'll see you at work tomorrow. Thanks for talking to me. Goodnight." JJ said and hung up before her friend could get in another word. She felt bad for hanging up on Garcia, but she just didn't get it. She hadn't seen Emily. She hadn't been there. JJ knew she'd fucked up big. She also knew she needed to relax and go home. She focused herself first on stopping her tears and then on calming her shaking. She became determined to get home and get away from Emily's house. Through sheer willpower she calmed down enough to make it home and into bed. Once she made it to bed, however the tears and the shaking returned. Garcia had tried to call her back three times on her ride home and had left a message each time, but JJ just couldn't bring herself to answer. Nor could she stand to listen to the messages. She was sure they would either give her false hope that things would be ok, or confirm what she already knew that she was an idiot. She didn't think that she could deal with either one at the moment. JJ eventually cried herself to sleep and dreamt uneasy dreams that night.


	15. Chapter 15

Emily awoke to the ugly sound of her alarm. Her head pounded and as her hand shot to her temple to help combat the pain, she recalled the events of the night before. She sighed. She didn't want to go to work. She didn't want to face JJ. She couldn't believe she'd kissed JJ last night. How could she have been so stupid? And then to use tongue too? As if just kissing her hadn't been bad enough! Emily lay in bed and seriously considered calling in sick. She ultimately decided that other people were less apt to catch on if she went to work and acted normal. Grudgingly she shuffled off to get ready for her morning. She felt exhausted as she did so. She had not slept well. She had tossed and turned for hours after JJ had left her house with that terrified look on her face. Emily really just hoped that, above anything else, she hadn't completely damaged her and JJ's friendship beyond repair. After a quick, but scalding shower in which she almost tried to burn off the memory of the night before, she got dressed in a basic black skirt and white button down shirt, grabbed a granola bar to eat later for breakfast and headed to work. She really wasn't hungry. Being a bundle of nerves did that to her. She drove to work in silence, not bothering to turn on the radio even, simply too lost in her own thoughts. She just didn't believe she could have been so dumb as to risk the amazing friendship she had with JJ over a kiss. She sighed heavily as she pulled into the garage at work and headed upstairs. When she got there Hotch caught her eye and motioned her into his office. Emily dropped her bag at her desk, and without looking around at anyone else headed in to see Hotch, nervous about what he could want to talk to her about so early.

"Close the door please, Emily," Hotch said as Emily entered the room. Emily did as was asked and noticed that the normally open blinds were closed. This was not a good sign. "JJ's coming in late this morning. She called me earlier and said she wasn't feeling well." Hotch began. Emily stiffened at the mention of JJ's name, images from the night before flooding her head. "Please, have a seat." Hotch said as he looked up from his desk at Emily. Emily did so. Her heart had risen to her throat and her stomach had tied into knots when she'd heard that JJ wasn't coming in that morning. She was immediately racked with guilt. She knew it was her fault. She'd fucked up and now JJ was trying to stay as far away as possible from her. She'd managed to screw up the team dynamic in one night. _Way to go, Em!_ She told herself sarcastically.

"JJ came to see you last night. Didn't she?" Hotch continued.

"Yes, sir." Emily responded automatically. She was scared. She didn't know where this conversation was headed, but she didn't like that it had started with the one subject she least wanted to talk about today.

"There's no need to be so formal, Emily," Hotch said as he sat back in his chair and gave Emily one of his half smiles.

"Sorry, Hotch," Emily replied.

"That's fine. So did JJ seem ok last night? I'm worried it might not be illness, but instead something else that's caused her to stay out this morning. I know that you and Garcia are her closest friends…maybe she said something to you? Or acted in a certain way that might indicate that she wasn't feeling ok…emotionally or mentally somehow?"

_Did she seem ok? No she didn't seem ok! She seemed petrified at having been kissed by me, her supposed close friend. I was an idiot and I fucked up and now she's avoiding me! That's why she's not coming in this morning._ Emily wanted to say those things, but knew she couldn't. There was no way in hell she was gonna tell her boss that she not only liked both men and women, but that she specifically had romantic interest in a team member. Emily looked up to find Hotch studying her face. She knew he was profiling her, as any team leader needed to do to lead his team effectively. She knew she needed to be careful about how much she revealed in her speech and in her behavior.

"She seemed mostly ok. A little upset perhaps." Emily said, trying to sound casual. _Ok, she was a lot upset and it was all my fault. I'm so stupid._

Hotch said nothing, just looked at her for a minute. He seemed as if he was about to say something but then changed his mind. Instead he said "I know it was an emotionally trying case, and cases involving children always seem to hit all of us harder. I know she keenly felt that though we physically saved the children, we were too late to save their lives, so to speak."

"Yeah. I think we were all upset about that, though. But you're right; she did seem quite upset by the case." Emily replied, sighing heavily. Hotch had given her the perfect escape and she'd taken it. Hotch didn't know that she liked JJ, and didn't know that she was the reason JJ wasn't at work. He thought it was the case and Emily was more than happy to let him think that.

"I thought so," Hotch said, still studying Emily's face. "Ok, thank you. That's all I needed to know. I think maybe I'll hold a team meeting reviewing the outcome of the case later. Do you think that would help? Just let everybody get things off their chest?" Hotch asked.

"Yeah. I think that might be good." Emily managed a smile at Hotch as she rose to leave.

"Oh, and Emily?" Hotch's words stopped Emily in her tracks. _Oh no!_ She thought. "Are you doing ok? You seem…I know the case got to you too. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Emily turned back towards her boss. "No. I'm doing ok. Thanks." She said feebly, feeling as if Hotch could see right through her words. If he did, he didn't say anything, though.

"Ok." He replied. "My door is always open if you do." Hotch said as Emily left the office. Once outside the office she breathed a big sigh of relief.

"What was that about?" Morgan asked as Emily headed to her desk.

"Nothing," she mumbled. "He just wanted my opinion on a team meeting we're gonna have later. That's all." She felt bad lying to Morgan. She liked him. They had a lot in common. He was a genuinely nice guy and he was pretty easy to talk to. _Why couldn't you just like Morgan? At least if you liked him it would be less likely to screw up the team dynamic forever! At least he probably wouldn't freak if you kissed him! At least he was a guy!_ She knew that wasn't possible though. Much as she wanted to simplify her life, she knew she'd fallen hard for JJ. If only she hadn't fucked it up?

Before Emily had even reached her desk, Garcia flew past her, grabbing her arm on the way. "My office. Now." Garcia said.

Emily followed in silence. She was dreading this conversation. It was times like this when Emily wished that she had her own office, with a door that locked. She just wanted to hide from the team. From Garcia in particular, since she was most likely to ask the questions that Emily didn't want to answer.

Garcia steered Emily into her office and sat her down in a chair, then she situated herself on her own chair. She cut right to the chase.

"So the two of you kissed. Were you going to tell me?" Garcia grinning at her friend.

Emily was not in the mood for Gossip Queen Garcia. Right now she wasn't even sure she was in the mood for Garcia her close friend and confidant. She just wanted some time alone, to focus on paperwork and forget the night before. But she knew Garcia, and it didn't look like alone time was in the cards for Emily.

"I just got in Garcia. When was I supposed to have told you?" Emily sighed.

"How about last night?!? You could have called me!" Garcia said.

"Speaking of calling you, I assume JJ did, otherwise your psychic powers have really improved and I think it's only fair that I warn the rest of the team of that." Emily replied.

"Yes, she did as a matter of fact. And by the way, I told you you'd have a more positive reception than you thought you would." Garcia said looking smug.

Emily just sat there, her shock clearly visible on her face. "Are you fucking kidding me Garcia? I kissed her and she pulled away and looked at me in absolute horror! She freaked! She didn't even come to work this morning because she's avoiding me! I fucked up big, Garcia! It's all my fault! I don't know how I could have been so stupid! The look she gave me, it was horrible. I never want her to look at me like that again. And the little apologetic half smile she gave when she left my house for the first and probably the last time ever? I felt horrible. She was trying to be nice even after I'd forced my tongue into her mouth. I don't deserve her friendship. And can this please be the last time we ever talk about this at work? I don't know what I'd do if the rest of the team found out."

Garcia's face had changed from the smug look she'd had before to one of surprise and almost sadness.

"Sweetie, you didn't do anything wrong! JJ's just scared. But…"

"Garcia, please! I completely ruined our friendship. Of course JJ's scared. She's probably scared I'm going to kiss her again! I'm not. If you talk to her, would you please tell her that? Now if you don't mind I really want to stop talking about this, and I really have paperwork to do." Before Garcia could say another word Emily stood up and walked out of the office. She barely acknowledged the hellos of her team mates as she headed to her desk, where she sat down and buried her head in paperwork.

"You ok Prentiss? You seem like you're in a bad mood. You broke the case. You should be happy." Morgan said, standing behind her.

"I'm fine." Emily said, more coldly than she meant to. She didn't look away from the papers on her desk, though she wasn't really able to focus on them.

"Come on, Em, I know something's up. You can talk to me you know." Morgan persisted, leaning over Emily as she kept her head down. "I know those kids weren't in ideal shape when we found them, but at least Jay's gone back to his family fairly unscarred." Morgan said. He obviously assumed the case was what was bothering her too.

"I know." Emily said quietly, not wanting to correct her friend. She felt him lean in to her and kiss her on the head. Guilt once again overcame her, but this time it was for lying to Morgan. She wished she could tell him the truth, but knew that she couldn't. She blinked back tears and tried to focus on her paperwork. Morgan moved away back to his desk, but then turned back towards her. "By the way you're coming out to the bar with the rest of the team tonight. I'm not taking no as an answer. You are far too sexy a lady to go home and mope on a Friday night. You hear me?"

Emily nodded and sighed. She just wanted to melt into her desk. She didn't want to be there. It was good, however, that she hadn't called in sick, because if neither she nor JJ had shown up this morning, there definitely would have been speculation. _Just try to act normal_. She told herself. _And do your damn paperwork._


	16. Chapter 16

JJ just couldn't bring herself to face Emily when she woke up in the morning. She'd called Hotch and said she'd felt ill. He'd sounded skeptical, but taken her explanation and given her until eleven to come in to work. Eleven o'clock was now looming, and she was growing more nervous by the second. She knew she needed to get to work. She just couldn't bear to see the look on Emily's face. She knew that her friend would avoid her and she knew it was all her fault. JJ reluctantly got ready for work. Her stomach was too tied in knots for her to even consider eating breakfast, so she left the house without it.

She almost turned the car around three times on her way to work, contemplating calling in sick for the day. She knew she had a stack of paperwork calling her name in her office, so she kept driving. When she got to work she went straight to her office. She didn't look up or around. She didn't want to see Emily. She didn't want to see anyone. She put on a fake half smile and said hi to anyone she encountered, but made no effort to start a conversation with any of them. When she reached her office she closed the blinds and shut the door. No sooner had she done that and sat down at her desk, than she heard a rap on the door.

"JJ, it's me." Hotch said. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah." JJ said, sighing. "Come in."

"How're you feeling?" Hotch said opening the door and taking the seat across the desk from JJ.

"Better thanks," JJ lied. "I'm sorry I called in. I just was so tired, and…well it won't happen again Hotch."

"You know you're allowed to take some time every once and a while. We all need some alone time from time to time. Especially after rough cases. Especially when there are a lot of things going on in our lives." Hotch said in a kindly voice.

JJ's head shot up and she stared at Hotch. _Oh shit! He knows! Did Emily tell him? I bet she went straight to his office and told him she couldn't work with me anymore. No…I'm sure she doesn't want anyone to know about the kiss. But then how does he know?_

"I'm a profiler JJ." Hotch said answering her unasked question. "I don't know what's going on in your life, but I know something is. If you need to talk, I'm here. My door is always open to you. You know that." Hotch said and smiled. "You're a good agent, JJ. This case was hard, but you managed it admirably. And you handled the press like nobody else on this team can. I'm proud of you."

JJ smiled at her boss. She knew he was trying to help. She just didn't think she could be helped. "Thank you. If I need to talk I'll come to you." She knew she probably wouldn't, but then again, Hotch had been there for her before. He understood her. He profiled her, she knew, but she didn't mind. It was part of his job to know his team the best he could.

"I'm having a meeting in a couple of hours to discuss the case. It was rough on people. I'll expect you there. Oh and we're going out tonight, as a team. I think it would be really good if you came out too JJ. Please?"

JJ was so shocked by the "please," that she simply nodded before her mind could process that that meant spending time with Emily. Hotch left then, and JJ, who wanted no more interruptions, got up and locked her door behind him. She just wanted to get her paperwork done.

She'd been sitting at her desk for only five minutes when another knock came at her door.

"Jayj, it's me. Let me in. We need to talk. Please?" It was Garcia. JJ just couldn't deal with a conversation with her friend right now.

"I'm sorry Garcia but I really need to focus on my work right now. I have a pile as tall as me stacked on my desk and not enough hours to do it in. I'll see you tonight." She called through her locked door.

"You're coming out tonight?" Garcia sounded surprised.

"Yeah, Hotch asked me to, so I'm coming. But I don't know that I'll stay very long. Goodbye Garcia." She heard Garcia shuffle away. JJ sighed and looked back at her mound of paperwork. She'd barely been exaggerating to Garcia and she was hardly able to focus. All she could think about was the Emily was just out in the bullpen, not that far away. JJ shook her head and tried to focus on her work.


	17. Chapter 17

JJ wandered into the meeting, not looking at anyone. She'd brought paperwork to give her an excuse to look down, rather than at her fellow agents. As she entered the room she passed by Hotch who whispered in her ear, "Hide behind your file as long as you pay attention JJ." She glanced up quickly at him, slightly startled, but he just smiled back at her. _Shit! He definitely knows. But how can he know? And how much does he know? Does he know we kissed? Or just that I like her? Or does he just know that there's something going on between me and her. I so don't want to be here right now._

JJ refrained from glancing around the room. She knew Emily was already there, because she had heard her say something to Morgan as JJ had entered the room. She hadn't heard what exactly though. Garcia entered the room behind her, grabbed her, and steered her to a seat. JJ sat when Garcia pushed her shoulders down. Garcia then took the seat next to her and took JJ's hand in her own under the table. JJ glanced up at her friend and was horrified as she looked past her and saw Emily sitting merely a chair away. Emily was there, sitting on the other side of Garcia. As if Emily had felt JJ's eyes on her she looked up. Their eyes caught for a minute before both women looked away quickly. _So this is how it's going to be between us from now on: unable to look at each other, let alone speak to each other. JJ you just need to get over her. You just need to go find a nice guy and get laid or something. Then you can forget about this whole idiotic situation with Emily and maybe she'll see that you don't want her like that and she'll stop being awkward around you._ JJ made a mental note to look around for Mr. Cute Ass at the bar that night. She knew she didn't really feel a spark with him, but he'd be a good start. And at least she knew he was interested.

Hotch cleared his throat getting the team's attention. JJ looked at the file she'd set down in front of her. She tried to pull her hand away from Garcia, who wouldn't let go. Garcia just gave her hand a little squeeze instead.

"I wanted to bring you all here to talk about our last case. I know that, while we were successful, it almost didn't feel like it because of how scarred the majority of the children were. I wanted to have this meeting so that we could openly discuss how we felt about the case and any other matters that anyone wants to bring up. We are a team and as a team we need to support each other. This is an opportunity for us to be there for each other." Hotch said, and looked around expectantly. JJ glanced up, but looked back down. She had nothing to share. The one thing she wanted to say, she couldn't. She couldn't apologize to Emily one on one, let alone in front of the whole team.

Rossi cleared his throat to JJ's left. "Well I'll begin." He said. JJ knew he was trying to be supportive of his younger colleague. "I think that jail is too good for that unsub. The torture that he inflicted on those children, it's inexcusable. I tried to talk to one boy, Andrew, he was seven at the time he was taken, but is fourteen now, and he was empty inside. He seemed to have forgotten that he had parents or anyone out in the real world that cared about him. All he could remember was the torment, the burns, the cuts, the sexual abuse that this man had inflicted on him. It saddened me greatly that this boy is never going to have a normal life. I agree, cases like this hit especially hard. There were so many lives ruined. The parents who have waited for so many years to get their children back, will instead have ghosts wandering around their houses. None of them will fully recover except perhaps Jay and his parents."

Morgan slammed his hands down on the table. "It gets to me that no matter how many of these guys we get and lock away forever, there still seem to be others out there that are ruining other people's lives. The BAU just can't keep up."

"No, we can't, but we can continue to do our best. We can continue to save those that we can. We cannot dwell on all of those that we cannot save." Hotch tried to calm his colleague.

"Yeah and I get that that's a part of the job we all have to live with, not being able to save everybody, but that doesn't make it suck any less." Morgan replied.

The meeting continued in this manner for several minutes. JJ found it ironic that it was the men, traditionally viewed as the less emotional ones, who were the ones openly discussing their feelings. JJ was beginning to tune out, when a familiar voice made her heart flutter.

"I think, that the best way for us to counter the evil we see is to be the best people we can to each other and to other people in general." Emily said in a quiet voice. JJ risked a glance at her, and saw caught Emily looking at her. _Was that supposed to be a pointed statement at me? Saying that I wasn't being the best person I could be to her last night? Shit. It was just a kiss. I didn't mean to scare her away. I didn't mean…_ JJ let her thoughts drift out as she became aware of Garcia reaching out the hand that was not already firmly grasping JJ's hand, and grabbed Emily's hand. The two women were now physically connected through their friend. Garcia pulled both of their hands into her lap. JJ began to squirm in her seat. She didn't know why Garcia was doing this to her but she wished she wasn't She noticed Emily begin to squirm as well. _See? She can't even stand to be this close to me anymore!_ JJ told herself. She felt disappointed. She renewed her effort to free her hand from Garcia's.

"JJ, do you have anything to add?" Hotch was asking her. She realized that she'd stopped paying attention to the conversation as soon as she'd heard Emily's voice.

"I-I think Emily nailed it. We need to make sure that we treat each other and everyone around us because that coupled with the people we do save is going to be what saves us." JJ said. It took all her focus not to either flinch or to blush when she said Emily's name. Silence filled the room for a minute after JJ spoke.

"I think both Emily and JJ make valid points. I think this was a good meeting. I thank you all for sharing your thoughts. Hopefully some of us feel better about the last case now." Hotch said, essentially dismissing the team. JJ took her time getting up to go, and she noticed that Hotch was staying behind too. Garcia looked like she wanted to stay to JJ as well, but she ultimately opted not to mess with Hotch and left the room. "I thought I said to pay attention." Hotch smiled at JJ to let her know he was teasing.

"In my defense it wasn't my file that distracted me." JJ said playfully, then immediately regretted it. Hotch raised an eyebrow, but said nothing further as they walked back to their respective offices. When Hotch reached the door of his office, he called after JJ, "So we'll see you at the bar tonight, right?" JJ looked up at her boss. She didn't know why he really wanted her there, maybe he didn't and was just being nice, but she decided she should probably go anyway. If nothing else it might keep people from talking about her and her odd behavior recently. She nodded , and Hotch, looking satisfied, went into his office and closed the door.

JJ managed to make it to her office without anyone stopping her and, once in there she locked the door and went back to her work. She looked at her watch. Still four more hours to kill until she could leave. _No, _ she corrected herself, _until you get to go to the bar…where Emily's also going to be…and there aren't any locked doors to hide behind._ JJ sighed as she sat down her desk. Only time would tell what the evening would bring.


	18. Chapter 18

Emily sat at a table with Morgan, Garcia and Hotch. Reid and Rossi had bailed out earlier both claiming alternate plans for the latter half of the evening, though Emily had a sneaking suspicion that Rossi's plans involved going to sleep. She looked over to where JJ was dancing with the guy they'd dubbed "Mr. Cute Ass" earlier that week at that same bar. She felt jealousy well up inside her for the gazillionth time that night. At the moment her method of controlling it involved lots of beer. _I guess JJ got over me really quickly. She's certainly trying hard as hell to prove she's straight now. I scared her away from me for good it seems. She's barely looked at me all night. Well if JJ's moved on, maybe I should too._ Emily turned to Hotch. He was attractive, and sweet, and recently available.

"So handsome, how about a dance?" Emily asked him, standing up from her bar stool.

Hotch looked at her for a second, then glanced out at the dance floor, then looked back at Emily. "Yeah, sure." Hotch replied. He took her hand and led her out to the dance floor. They'd been dancing for all of a minute when a slow country ballad started to play. It wasn't exactly Emily's taste in music, but she didn't want to stop dancing with Hotch. It was as if dancing with him would take her feelings for JJ away. Hotch held her closer as they danced, and Emily looked over his shoulder to find that JJ too was still on the dance floor with "Mr. Cute Ass." Her head was leaning on his shoulder and her eyes were closed. Emily sighed, and scooted even closer to Hotch.

"Em, what are you doing?" Hotch said softly in her ear.

"I'm just dancing, Hotch." Emily said, feeling the alcohol in her system more than a little. She glanced over Hotch's shoulder again in time to see JJ making out with "Mr. Cute Ass." Emily's gut twisted in knots. She felt suddenly very nauseous. Those soft lips that had been touching hers just the previous evening were now touching someone else's. And right in front of her no less! She felt like the floor was being pulled out from under her. A minute later she glanced back at JJ to see the blonde heading out of the bar with "Mr. Cute Ass."

"I'll be right back." She said to Hotch, trying to hide the sadness and disgust in her voice. She hurried to the bathroom. Once in there she went into a stall and locked the door. She just wanted to hide. She just wanted the floor to open up and swallow her, but it didn't. A minute later she heard someone come into the bathroom.

"Em?" She heard Garcia ask. She didn't feel up to responding, so she said nothing. "Em, I know you're in here. Sweetie, JJ's not mad at you. She's just confused. You both seem to be." Garcia said coming closer to the stall in which Emily was hiding.

"Go away Garcia." Emily said. She didn't want to be mean to her friend, but she just wanted to be alone for a bit.

"No. Both you and JJ have been pushing me away all day. I might have something valuable to say, you know. I am the omniscient Goddess of Relationships, after all. Darling, JJ likes you."

Emily opened her stall door. She glared at Garcia. That was just cruel to say. Obviously it wasn't true, because JJ had just left with "Mr. Cute Ass." She didn't know why Garcia had said it, but she really didn't want to hear any more. "Oh yeah? Well she's got a funny way of showing it. I've got to get out of here." Emily said, pushing past Garcia and back out into the bar. She grabbed Hotch's arm. "Take me home." She said to him, recognizing that she was neither sober enough nor sane enough at that moment to drive herself.

"Of course," Hotch said, following her out of the bar after saying goodnight to his colleagues. Emily hooked her arm through his as he steered her towards his car. He stopped and helped her up as she tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. Emily blushed. She looked up into Hotch's eyes, and thought, _Well, why not? _ She was heading in for a kiss, but she felt Hotch pull away.

"Emily, what're you doing? You and I both know that I'm not who you want to be kissing." Hotch said, in a serious, but kind voice.

Emily sobered somewhat at Hotch's words. "How do you know? And how much do you know?" She asked him, again wishing that the ground would open and swallow her up.

"I know that you would much rather be kissing JJ than me right now. I know that something must have happened between the two of you to cause both you and she to be pretending to want other people tonight. I know that she reciprocates your feelings, but neither of you seem to be able to see the way you feel about each other. I also know that what you really need right now is a good night's sleep. I need to go talk to someone, but I'll be right back. Take my keys and meet me in my car. I'll take you home in a couple of minutes."

"Does everyone else know?" Emily asked, praying that the answer was no.

"The two of you were very discreet until today, and the case provided a nice cover for your odd behavior. I think that nobody else suspects anything, besides Garcia who I'm assuming either one or both of you told, because she seems better informed than I am. Now don't worry, and go sit in the car." Hotch said handing her the keys.

Hotch's words had stunned her. He had said that JJ reciprocated her feelings, but how was that possible? She had been all over "Mr. Cute Ass" tonight. Why had she done that if she really liked Emily? _Then again, you almost kissed Hotch._ She thought as she stumbled towards Hotch's car. When she got there she turned back, and was surprised to see Hotch involved in conversation with none other than JJ. "Mr. Cute Ass" seemed to be nowhere to be found. Emily couldn't help but smile about that.


	19. Chapter 19

JJ had agreed to go home with "Mr. Cute Ass," but when she hit the parking lot she just couldn't. He tried to make out with her some more before they got to the car. His lips were rougher than Emily's. They were more chapped. JJ didn't think she could go through with sleeping with him. Everything just felt wrong. She broke away.

"I'm sorry. I thought I could do this, but I can't. It's not who I am. I didn't mean to lead you on, but there's someone else I'm interested in." She said.

He looked at her with a baffled look on his face. "Cock tease," he called her then he turned and left. JJ slumped against the nearest car. She was on the edge of tears and then she saw Emily leaving the bar with none other than Hotch.

_Of course! That's just perfect! I kiss her, and who does she run to? Hotch! Our boss! Who she claimed she had no feelings for! Yeah right! Well it makes sense! They were laughing and talking all night._ JJ thought bitterly as a tear escaped and ran down her cheek. She watched them progress towards the car, saw her almost kiss him, but he'd pulled away. Before she knew it he was coming towards her. _Shit!_ JJ wiped the tear off her cheek. She couldn't let him see her like this.

Hotch came up and leaned against the car next to her. JJ turned her face away. She was fighting back tears.

"What did you think you were doing tonight?" Hotch asked after a minute of silence.

JJ was surprised. For starters, her personal life was none of his business and Hotch wasn't the type to pry.

"You weren't being yourself. Don't think that it escaped my notice. What were you doing with him when he wasn't the one you wanted to leave with?" Hotch continued.

JJ's breath caught. She froze. He knew. She knew he knew. "I don't know what you're talking about," she managed after a moment, but she knew her cracking voice betrayed her.

"Yes you do. I know I'm your boss, but I'm also your friend JJ. I'm glad you didn't go home with that guy. I didn't think you'd be able to…You know she's pretty upset." Hotch said.

JJ laughed harshly. "Oh, yeah. She's got a funny way of showing it. Now she's going home with you."

Hotch moved into JJ's field of vision. "No. I'm taking her home, then I'm going home to my place, by myself." Hotch said quietly but firmly.

JJ looked at him. She saw the truth in his eyes.

"The only reason that she tried to kiss me was because she thought you were going home with that guy." Hotch said.

JJ froze as the meaning behind Hotch's words sunk in. She had to be sure. She had to hear Hotch confirm it. "What do you mean?" She asked looking straight at him for the first time all evening.

"You know what I mean JJ." Hotch replied softly.

"I need to hear it Hotch." JJ looked at him almost pleading with him to tell her.

Hotch put his arm around her, and pulled her into a hug. "You know for a brilliant FBI agent, sometimes you can be so dense. Emily too. If you two would just talk to each other...I'm taking her home, why don't you go over to her place sometime tomorrow to drive her back here to get her car. It'll give you two a chance to talk. I don't think you two should talk tonight though. I think you both need to be sober for this conversation." Hotch released JJ, who had been surprised by the hug, but she knew that every once and a while he could be a warm and caring person, not just the boss.

She nodded. "Hotch…"

"She likes you JJ." He said smiling.

Warmth flooded through JJ, along with a kind of electric nervousness. If Emily liked her back, she'd really have to deal with her emotions towards her friend. Fear suddenly paralyzed JJ. "Hotch…the others…?" JJ left the question open. She was too terrified by the prospect of the rest of the team knowing to even finish voicing the question.

"Besides Garcia you mean? No." Hotch shook his head. "I don't think they know."

"But Hotch, what about the fraternization rules?"

Hotch put up a hand. "What Strauss doesn't know won't hurt her. Leave your personal life at home, and I don't have a problem with it. I know you and Emily, you bring out the best in each other. You always have, you just didn't see it."

JJ smiled at her boss. "Thanks."

"Just do me a favor and talk to each other this weekend. By Monday I want you two to know where you stand with each other. Ok?" Hotch requested.

"Ok." JJ said softly.

"Oh, and JJ?" Hotch said as he was walking away. "Your secret is safe with me. You'll always be Special Agent Jennifer Jareau, our young and talented media liaison to me." He shot her a smile. JJ sighed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you." She said. She watched Hotch walk away, wishing she was going with him, wishing she was the one driving Emily home. She suddenly longed to be with her friend. Hotch's words kept swimming through her brain. _"She likes you JJ." Did she really? Hotch wouldn't lie. Emily likes me._ JJ's head begin to swim. She suddenly remembered something else that Hotch had said. _"Besides Garcia?" Garcia knew that Emily likes me? Why didn't she tell me!?! I've gotta go find Garcia_.

JJ marched into the bar and looked around. She found her friend sitting at the bar with Morgan. JJ went over to her, and without saying something grabbed her arm and dragged her outside. Morgan made to follow them, but JJ glared and he sat back down with a surprised, but amused look on his face.

"Penelope Garcia, you knew? You knew and you didn't tell me? I was beating myself up over unwanted advances and you knew they were wanted this whole time!" JJ said, half whispering half yelling as they got further away from the bar.

Garcia stopped in her tracks and looked open mouthed at JJ. "Are you kidding?" She said incredulously. "I tried to tell you! I tried to tell both of you! Neither of you listened!"

"You never came right out and said it!" JJ persisted.

"First of all, I was trying not to completely betray the confidence and trust you both instilled in me by telling me to begin with. Secondly, neither of you gave me a chance!" Garcia defended herself. "Wait how do you know, come to think of it? Oooh, did you talk to her?" Garcia asked, a touch of the gossip queen shining through.

"No, I talked to Hotch. I'm gonna go talk to Em tomorrow though. Oh God, I'm nervous Garcia! I don't know what to say. My heart is racing Garcia! She's so…what if she doesn't…or what if she doesn't want to….or what if…oh God, Garcia I can't think!"

Garcia chuckled at her friend. "Hotch knows then? I wondered if he might. He kept giving both of you strange looks. I think he's the only one who's figured it out though. And sweetie, the words will come. When you see her, when you sit down and talk, you'll figure it out. Don't worry about it. Don't think about it. Just let the words come."

JJ felt so confused. She stood there with a look half of despair, half of confusion on her face. Garcia pulled her into a tight hug.

"Oh sweetie, it'll all be ok. She really does like you. Believe it or not she told me before you told me. And you were both blaming yourselves for the kiss thinking the other didn't want it, and you were both completely ignoring me, but now you know she likes you…It'll work out darling. I promise." Garcia said into her hair. Then Garcia laid a big kiss on JJ's forehead.

JJ smiled at her. She kissed her friend on the cheek. "You're the best Garcia. Sorry I didn't listen to you." JJ said.

"That's ok, babe. I understand. But if you feel about it, how about we head back into the bar and buy me a drink."

The two headed back towards the bar arm in arm. JJ wrinkled her nose and gave a mischievous smile. "You're not really my type though, Garcia." Garcia laughed and nudged her friend.

"That's good, 'cause, no offense darling, but you're not exactly mine either." Garcia responded. JJ laughed. "So just so we're clear you're bisexual, right? I mean you still seem to like guys." Garcia inquired.

"Yeah. I think so. But could we possibly not label me just yet."

"Sure, sweetie." Garcia said as they walked into the bar and over to Morgan.

"So what was that about? Did you guys run outside for a hot makeout session? 'Cause I gotta say I'm offended I wasn't invited if that was the case." Morgan teased the two girls.

JJ and Garcia looked at each other and broke into fits of laughter.

"What?" Morgan asked, sounding slightly baffled. "What?"

JJ was laughing too hard to answer. Morgan had no idea. JJ felt calm for the first time in days. She was nervous, but for the first time since this whole awkward situation began she finally felt like maybe things really would work out.

"Aw, Brown Sugar, you know you're at the top of my makeout list." Garcia said to him. "JJ's not my type."

The repeat of what Garcia had just teased her about sent JJ into further fits of laughter. She sat down next to Morgan, ready to actually enjoy the rest of the night.

"Aw, thank you baby doll." Morgan said kissing Garcia lightly on the cheek. "Hey what happened to that guy Jayj? That one I thought you left with."

Garcia and JJ looked at each other again.

"Don't ask!" They both said simultaneously.


	20. Chapter 20

Emily lay in bed replaying Hotch's words from the night before in her head. "I know that she reciprocates your feelings." Was he right? Did JJ really like her back? It seemed so improbable, but yet Hotch, a trained profiler who Emily respected, believed that JJ did indeed like her. Emily's head was spinning, and it wasn't because of the lump she had on the side of her head from whacking it the day before. She'd barely slept the night before, despite the alcohol in her system. She was excited and nervous at the same time. Hotch had said when he'd dropped her off the night before, that he thought JJ might stop by sometime during the day to take Emily to pick up her car. Emily knew that it would be for more than that. She knew Hotch knew that too. It'd be to talk. Emily didn't know what she'd say. She never dreamed in a million years that JJ could possibly like her back. And last night had really hurt her. She'd hated seeing JJ with that guy, even if she hadn't gone home with him in the end.

Emily sighed. When had her life become so complicated? _Oh I know! When I started realizing that I like girls too! When I fell for my female coworker! God, I'm an idiot!_ Emily couldn't bring herself to get up and get ready to face the day. On the other hand she didn't want to still be in her pajamas with bed head and morning breath when JJ showed up at her door. _If _JJ showed up at her door. Emily still didn't quite believe that she was going to. _ If you get excited about her coming and get dressed nicely you'll just end up sitting around waiting and she'll never show up. Of course if you lay in bed doing nothing then she'll show up._ As if fate was reading her mind, the doorbell rang. _Shit._ Emily's heart rose to her throat and the butterflies that had been in her stomach since she woke up started flying around like crazy. She felt an excited tingle run down her spine. She jumped out of bed and ran to the office and looked out the window overlooking the front of the house. Sure enough JJ was standing there. Emily thought she looked a little nervous. _Shit!_ Emily thought again. She ran back to her room and threw on a pair of jeans and the first shirt she could find, which happened to be a blue crew neck T-shirt. She raked a brush through her hair, brushed her teeth quickly, and ran down the stairs. At the door she paused, she was nervous. She wasn't even sure she wanted to talk to JJ. JJ was completely against fraternization between people who work together after all. Emily took a deep breath, bit her lip nervously and pulled open the door. JJ was walking away from the house.

"Jayj." Emily called out.

JJ turned. Emily's breath caught. JJ was standing there in a plain white blouse, left untucked, with jeans, but she looked absolutely gorgeous. Her hair was down and curled slightly around her face, framing it perfectly.

"Oh, um, hey. I was just leaving. You didn't answer so I thought maybe you weren't home or didn't want to…" She drifted off, but Emily knew what she meant. She thought maybe that Emily was avoiding her.

"I'm not." Emily said quietly.

"Oh…good." JJ said matching Emily's quietness.

The two women stood their looking at each other for a minute then they both looked away feeling awkward.

"Why don't you come in?" Emily asked finally.

"Yeah. Ok." JJ replied.

Emily opened her door wider and stood back for JJ to enter. As JJ walked past her she felt every cell in her body suddenly become more aware. She felt a tingle run down her spine as she smelled JJ's sweet shampoo. Once JJ was inside, Emily shut the door and the two women again stood in an awkward silence.

"You hungry at all?" Emily asked breaking the silence.

JJ shook her head. "Yeah, cause that worked out so well last time."

Emily blushed at the memory of kissing her friend who was now standing only a few feet away.

"How's your head?" JJ asked.

"Better, thanks." Emily replied.

"I wanted to ask you the other day, but I thought…I didn't think you wanted to talk to me." JJ looked away, obviously embarrassed. Emily saw her cheeks flush slightly.

"Jayj," Emily said softly, taking a step towards her friend. "Why wouldn't I want to talk to you?"

JJ looked back up into Emily's eyes. Emily saw fear in them. She saw that the younger agent was fighting back tears as well. "Here, let's sit and talk." Emily said leading the blonde into her living room, and sitting down on one end of the couch. JJ looked around the room as if unsure what seat to take, but ultimately opted for the other end of the couch.

"I thought…I thought that after I kissed you, that you'd never wanna even see me again." JJ slipped off her flip flops and pulled her knees up to her chin, holding onto them with her arms. Emily turned slightly on the couch pulling one leg up and tucking her foot under her other leg. JJ looked away, unable to face her friend. Emily knew the feeling.

"That's exactly why I thought you wouldn't want to see me ever again." Emily said, sighing. "You didn't kiss me JJ. I kissed you. I'm almost sure. Besides, I was definitely the one who initiated the tongue. And after that…You pulled away and you looked so freaked. I…I thought that I'd ruined our friendship." Emily could feel tears welling up in her own eyes. She fought them back.

"Em, I could have sworn it was me that started the kiss. I thought…I thought maybe you were just kissing back to be nice. And after I broke away, you looked shocked, and not in a good way. I just…I had to get over you. That's why the guy last night…" JJ drifted off again as a tear rolled down her cheek. Emily, on impulse moved closer to her friend and reached out to wipe the tear away. She saw JJ flinch slightly and pulled her hand back.

"Sorry." Emily said turning away as a tear escaped her eye as well. She hated feeling this emotional and this awkward. She hated how strange it was to be with JJ now.

JJ's hand reached out, and took the hand that Emily had pulled away. JJ's other hand wiped the tear away from Emily's cheek. Emily's heart fluttered and her cheek where JJ's hand had been felt like it was on fire. Emily knew she was blushing.

"Don't be sorry. I'm sorry. I just...part of me wishes we could just go back in time and be how we used to be. But then the other part of me knows that that's just not possible. There's been this nagging voice in the back of my mind that I've been ignoring for longer than I want to admit. I thought it was just the last couple of days, but thinking about it, it was longer than that. That voice is telling me that I don't wanna go back to being just friends with you. I don't want us to continue down this path of awkwardness either. That's the voice that drove me out of bed this morning and told me I needed to come here and talk to you this morning."

Emily's head was swimming and her heart was soaring. JJ didn't want to be just friends. JJ wanted to be with her. Emily's thoughts were racing. She knew she needed to say something. She wanted desperately to lighten the mood a little. To make the conversation not so heavy. She couldn't deal with heavy conversations like this. She'd always used humor to break tension.

"Little voice, huh? You developing another personality on me here Jayj?" Emily teased in a quiet voice, squeezing JJ's hand as she did so.

JJ smiled. "Maybe." She joked back. "Still like me?" She looked into Emily's eyes, and Emily melted. JJ looked so fragile and hopeful. Emily couldn't control herself. She leaned forward, putting her free hand on JJ's cheek, pulling her towards her, and kissed JJ. Her lips melted into JJ's. Emily's head was spinning in happiness and pleasure. JJ's free hand came up and wrapped around the back of Emily's head, pulling her closer. The hand that was clasping Emily's other hand gripped tighter. The kiss was both soft and passionate. It said everything that they couldn't. The kiss told Emily everything she needed to know, that JJ liked her, and wanted her and wanted to be with her. That JJ wasn't going anywhere. Emily was acutely aware of every inch of her that was making contact with JJ, but she was most focused on her lips. JJ's lips were so soft and inviting. Emily's tongue brushed gently against them. JJ willingly opened her mouth. Emily flicked her tongue inside and was rewarded by the soft feel of JJ's tongue against hers. She tasted sweet. Emily didn't want to pull away but she needed to talk to JJ. Needed to say some things. She pulled back and looked into JJ's eyes. The fear that she had seen after their last kiss was nowhere to be found. Instead there was a glint in JJ's eye that Emily recognized as happiness.

"Em…" JJ said. "I don't really know what we're doing here. I don't even know what this makes me. I guess I'm bi, but somehow none of it seems important when I'm with you. When I'm around you, it just seems like you're the only person in the room. Do you have any idea how much trouble I've had concentrating on work the past few days?" JJ laid a soft kiss on Emily's lips.

"Yeah, I have a really good idea how much trouble you've had." Emily replied, smiling at feeling JJ's soft lips against hers again, even if it was just a brief kiss this time. "Cause the exact same thing has been happening to me. I can't focus on work, because every time I try to fill out mind numbing stacks of paperwork all I think is you. I lie in bed at night thinking about encounters we had during the day. It's been driving me insane. And if it hadn't been for Garcia, I might not have figured out why my thoughts were being so strange, at least not for a while longer. She's the one who first suggested I might like you. I seemed fine to live in denial and confusion until she nudged me in the right direction."

JJ's smile grew wider as Emily spoke. _God she has a gorgeous smile._ Emily thought.

JJ's face turned suddenly annoyed. "You know she knew the whole time? She knew we liked each other and she never told me when I was panicking after our first kiss. I thought I'd killed our friendship and she didn't even tell me that I didn't really have anything to worry about because you were probably ok with me kissing you!"

"Very ok with you kissing me," Emily confirmed, leaning in and kissing JJ lightly on the lips to prove her point. "She knew? That must have been why she kept trying to talk to me! I thought she was going to tell me that you were really freaked and I should stay away and I didn't want to hear it since it was what I already thought, so I never gave her the chance to tell me that you might be more ok with me kissing you than I thought you were. She tried to tell me, I just wouldn't listen."

JJ looked a little sheepish. "Yeah, ok. She might have tried to tell me too. Thank God for Hotch, huh? At least we both listened to him."

Emily looked at JJ and grinned. "Yep. He's a good guy. And here you were worried that I liked him and the whole time I liked you instead. I didn't know it when we were sitting at the bar that night after you glared unintentionally at me. When that guy kissed you for the first time, I felt jealous, and I was so confused. I thought maybe it was because I'd considered going for him briefly. And let me stress very briefly here. I couldn't think that it was possibly that I liked a girl, that I liked you, my friend, my colleague. I just knew that it'd screw everything up."

"Screw everything up, huh?" JJ echoed with a smirk on her face. "Oh is that what we're doing. Ok, well I'll leave then." JJ made to get up to leave, but Emily, not about to let JJ just walk out of her life, grabbed her and pulled her down, turning JJ in towards her as she came down. JJ took control and leaned over Emily, laying a kiss on her lips. She then straddled Emily's legs with her own. Emily looked up into blue eyes and got lost as JJ bent back down and kissed her again, deeper this time. Emily felt JJ's tongue flick between her lips. When JJ pulled away Emily couldn't help but crave more. She couldn't believe that JJ was sitting there on her lap. She couldn't believe that JJ's lips had been touching hers just a moment before. It all felt surreal. A horrible thought struck her. Could this all just be a really vivid dream? She felt JJ's weight on her lap. No.

"I feel like I'm dreaming." Emily said.

"Well, is it a good dream at least? Cause it's a really good dream for me." JJ replied with a grin.

"It's a very, very good dream," Emily said, grinning back. She leaned forward and kissed JJ on the lips so lightly that her lips barely brushed the blonde's. Then Emily kissed JJ's neck ever so gently. JJ giggled slightly, as Emily continued a trail of light kisses down JJ's neck and across her collarbone. Her skin was so soft. Emily relished in feeling it against her lips. A small gasp escaped JJ's lips as her breathing became heavier. Emily pulled back and looked back into JJ's eyes. She couldn't believe the emotion she felt for the woman in her lap. She couldn't believe how quickly her feelings had changed once she'd become aware of them. If she wasn't careful, she knew, she could fall head over heels for JJ. "Am I dreaming?" Emily asked.

"No." JJ said, slowly kissing Emily's forehead, then her nose, then her chin, before finally laying a deep, sensual kiss on Emily's lips. JJ pulled back. "So what're we doing, Em? I know neither of us really want to have this conversation, I don't even know if I'm ready for it, but I think we need to have it."

Emily sighed. She knew that JJ was right. She wasn't sure she could concentrate enough to have the conversation while JJ was sitting on her lap, and she really didn't want JJ to get off. As if sensing Emily's lack of focus, JJ climbed off and flopped down on the couch next to Emily. Emily heard felt her stomach grumble slightly as JJ sat there next to her. "Ok, you're right, we should talk about this, but is there any chance we could do it over breakfast?"

"As long as you don't cook. I don't want you to risk getting a concussion before this conversation." JJ grinned and winked at Emily, and Emily felt her heart flutter. She let out a small laugh.

"Deal. There's an IHOP nearby. I've never seen anyone else from the bureau at it, so we should be pretty safe." Emily responded.

"Sounds great." JJ said as she stood up. "Oooh, I could really go for some chocolate chip pancakes right now."

Emily grinned as she stood up too. "I may steal a bite or two. Just warning."

"Careful, I might bite if you try to swipe my food." JJ teased.

Emily reached out and grabbed JJ around the waist, pulling her into her. "Is that a promise?" She asked in a soft voice with a half smile on her face. Holding JJ to her, she bent down and kissed the younger agent, then released her and headed for the door. She heard JJ pause for a minute, breathing hard, before following behind her. Emily smiled. Now that she knew how JJ felt, she was starting to really enjoy the situation. The effect that she'd just had on her friend made her feel like grinning from ear to ear. It was the same, she knew, as the effect JJ had on her, and if Emily played too much, she was sure JJ would retaliate equally. The thought excited her slightly. Emily slipped on her flip flops that were by the door and grabbed her purse off the sideboard. She was going to breakfast with JJ. She wondered briefly if this qualified as a date. After brief consideration she decided that she wanted her first official date with JJ to be more than breakfast at IHOP. This was just them sorting out where they stood with each other and what they were going to do about it.

Emily climbed in to the passenger side of JJ's car and waited for JJ to get in. Emily chuckled softly to herself. If someone had told her a week ago that now she'd be thinking about first dates with JJ, she'd have thought they were crazy. But now…now here she was, wanting nothing more than to spend as much time with JJ as possible, and treat her to as romantic a first date as she could think of.


	21. Chapter 21

JJ pulled into the IHOP parking lot, and got out of the car. She hadn't liked driving, it'd meant that she couldn't look at Emily, or at least not as much as she wanted to. The brunette just had this sexiness about her that JJ had never really let herself see before. Now that she'd noticed it, she couldn't get enough of it. The way that Emily's brown eyes pierced through her when she looked at her, it was as if they saw through her. She felt like she melted under their gaze, and as JJ walked into IHOP with Emily at her side, she felt that gaze on her. She turned her head to see Emily looking at her and smiling.

"What's going through that pretty little head of yours?" She asked, smiling herself. _Damn that smile is contagious!_ She thought.

"Oh, nothing," Emily replied in a sing-song voice, her grin growing wider.

"Come on," JJ persisted, hooking her arm through Emily's. The move sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine. It felt so nice to be able to touch Emily like this and not worry that Emily didn't want it, or would pull away.

"How many, two?" The hostess asked.

_I wonder if she knows that we're not just here as friends?_ JJ thought briefly to herself as she nodded. The hostess lead them to a booth in the corner by the window. JJ scooted in to one side while Emily slid in across from her. The hostess put down the menus in front of them.

"Your waitress will be with you shortly." She said before leaving.

"Thanks," JJ said, flashing a quick smile before turning her attention to the menu. She glanced over it, but decided that her initial craving this morning of chocolate chip pancakes still sounded the most appealing. She closed the menu and looked up at Emily.

"So what're you getting?" She asked her friend who was still perusing the menu.

"Hmm…I'm not sure yet. French toast sounds pretty good. On the other hand blueberry pancakes are so good too." JJ saw her friend bite her lip unconsciously as she tried to decide. JJ couldn't help but find it adorable and wish that she was the one biting that lip instead. As if feeling JJ's eyes on her, Emily looked up. "What?" She asked, giving JJ a wicked grin.

"Oh nothing." JJ teased, winking at the brunette.

"Come on, what were you thinking?" Emily persisted.

"Just how nice your lips are and how cute you look." JJ replied. She looked down in embarrassment and felt her cheeks start to flush. She glanced up quickly out of curiosity. She wanted to see Emily's reaction. She was surprised to see Emily's cheeks turning red. _Wow she's cute when she blushes!_ JJ thought then looked quickly down again, feeling her own blush deepen. JJ felt a soft, strong hand take hers and looked up to see Emily smiling at her and holding her hand.

"You're pretty cute yourself." She said and winked, though JJ could see her blush deepen as well. Emily released JJ's hand and looked back at her menu, obviously trying to calm herself and get rid of her blush. "Let's see…" she muttered. "Yep, I think I'm gonna have to go with the French toast." JJ watched as Emily closed her menu and set it on the table. "It's tasty stuff French toast. With a little powdered sugar on it? Yum. One of my favourite breakfasts."

_Emily's rambling_, JJ realized. _She's nervous. I make her nervous. I don't know if I've ever seen Emily act nervous before. She's always so strong, and confident, and sexy…_ JJ surprised herself slightly. She still wasn't used to having those types of thoughts about Emily. She especially wasn't used to it being ok to think those types of thoughts. Yesterday afternoon she would have berated herself for thinking that. She would have thought that she couldn't think those thoughts about a girl, especially not Emily, because Emily would never be ok with her if she knew that JJ was having thoughts like that. But here she was, the very next day, out to breakfast with Emily, admitting some of these thoughts to her. It felt surreal. It didn't seem possible. But here they were. And they'd kissed. More than once. And the kisses had been amazing, and not regretted at all. When Emily's lips touched hers, it felt like her body was on fire. Her lips tingled at the memory and she couldn't help but smile.

"Not like blueberry pancakes aren't tasty. Or pancakes in general." Emily was saying.

"Em?" JJ interrupted.

"Huh?" Emily replied.

"Breathe, sweetie." JJ grinned at the slightly embarrassed look on Emily's face. Then she saw Emily's face change, into a slightly surprised look.

"Sweetie?" Emily asked.

It was JJ's turn to look embarrassed. She hadn't used the term as one friend might to another. She'd used it as if talking to a significant other. And Emily, being the brilliant profiler that she was, had caught it. _When will my cheeks stop turning bright red around her?_ JJ thought as her cheeks did just what she wished they wouldn't. JJ was relieved to see a young woman, walking towards them.

"I'm Claudia, I'll be your server today. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

"Well I think we're ready to order too." JJ replied glancing at Emily who nodded in confirmation.

"Ok, what can I get you?" Claudia asked, poised and ready to scribble down the order on her pad of paper.

JJ looked at Emily who indicated that she should go ahead first.

"I'll take the chocolate chip pancakes with extra whipped cream if that's possible please." JJ said smiling at the young woman who began writing as soon as JJ spoke.

"Not a problem. And for you?" The waitress turned her attention to Emily.

"I'll take the French toast please." Emily said.

"Ok, I'll have that out for you as soon as possible." The waitress smiled and walked away.

"She's kinda cute." Emily said.

JJ felt a jealous pang well up in her chest, then she looked at Emily and saw that she was grinning evilly. JJ kicked her under the table. It was a light kick but Emily feigned hurt through her laughter at JJ's reaction. JJ rolled her eyes. She glanced at the young waitress, walking away.

"Yeah, she's pretty cute." She replied hoping to elicit a similar response from Emily as she'd given a moment before. She wasn't disappointed. Emily opened her eyes wide and swatted at JJ. They giggled a little, then JJ turned the conversation serious. She wasn't sure she was ready to have this conversation, but she knew they needed to. Besides, she wasn't sure she was ever going to be ready for this conversation, _so,_ she figured_, may as well get it over with now._

She cleared her throat. "Em? What're we…what do you…how do you…I like you. I didn't think I could like a girl. And I didn't want to let myself like you, but I do. I don't date people I work with, but with you…." JJ trailed off. She hated putting herself out there this much. She wasn't sure exactly how much Emily reciprocated her feelings, she had no idea where Emily stood on the possibility of a relationship. She suddenly felt very insecure. She glanced at Emily. Emily was just sitting there looking at her, she looked slightly startled, and her mouth was open like she was trying to say something.

JJ watched as Emily opened and closed her mouth several times.

"I like you too Jayj. I really like you. I never noticed it until recently, but I think I've been developing feelings for you for a while now. There's just something about you…I can't seem to pull myself away. I try to make it a rule not to date people from work either, but I feel like with you it'll be ok. I don't know why. I just…I don't want to pass up this opportunity. I feel like if I do I'll be kicking myself for years to come."

It was JJ's turn to be startled. Ok she had started to accept that Emily liked her, but not that much. Not as much as JJ was afraid that she liked Emily. But here Emily was, sitting there across the table from her, talking openly about wanting to be with her, with JJ. JJ shook her head and looked at Emily.

"I'm sorry. Could you repeat that? I'm just…I'm not sure I quite believe my ears." JJ finally muttered.

Emily smiled. "I'm not sure I believed mine either. And I can barely believe the words that I'm saying, but I promise you they're true. They may not be that thought out, but they're true. I like you JJ. And I know you don't date people you work with, but I really hope…I wish that…please consider making an exception. I at least want a chance to be with you, to date you, to…" Emily blushed as she trailed off.

JJ thought she might be able to finish Emily's sentence for her and she blushed herself. She took a moment to regain her composure then said, "Em, I want that too. I can't explain exactly how my feelings for you came about, but…I feel I owe it to myself and to you to find out where they can take me…take us. Hotch said something to me last night. He said that we bring out the best in each other, we just don't seem to be able to see it, but I want to see it. I'm starting to see it. I feel…When I'm with you I feel like a whole new person…and I like it. I don't think I'm saying any of this well…I'm not sure that what I mean and what I feel is actually coming across in this…" JJ felt flustered. She knew how she felt, or at least she was figuring it out. She liked Emily. She felt like a renewed person when she was around her now, and she loved how that felt.

"So the media liaison is at a loss for words? Wow." Emily broke the awkwardness of the conversation.

JJ grinned and rolled her eyes. "Ok, ok rub it in. I make my living talking to the media and I can't even talk to the girl I like." It felt so comfortable with Emily, even with all of the awkwardness. There was an underlying comfort that JJ felt. Part of it, she knew, was just because she and Emily had been such good friends before.

"So you're not gonna not give us a chance?" Emily asked.

"Well it's a good thing you're not the media liaison what with your double negative." JJ winked at Emily then turned serious. "I want to give us a try. A real try…" JJ was interrupted by the arrival of their food. Claudia set their plates down in front of them and flashed them both a big smile.

"Can I get anything else for you two?" She asked.

Emily and JJ looked at each other then turned back to the waitress. "No thanks." Emily said.

"Ok well just let me know if you need anything." Claudia replied and left.

"She seems like a nice kid. What do you think? Early twenties? Twenty-one? Twenty two?" Emily said turning her attention back to JJ.

"I think that if you keep complimenting the waitress every time she leaves I might just have to get jealous. And I'd guess maybe twenty or twenty-one." JJ replied half joking and half actually slightly jealous. Emily looked at her and smiled.

"You're so cute. JJ, trust me, you have nothing to worry about."

JJ blushed. _Emily thinks I'm cute! God, I feel like a school girl with a crush! But this is so much better, because she likes me back!_ "I want to date you Em." She blurted out and blushed deeper. "You're…I…" JJ reached her hand across the table, the food forgotten for the moment. Emily reached out and took JJ's hand. "Em I really like you…" JJ lowered her voice. "It scares me a little how much I like you…" JJ swallowed hard. She was nervous. She was having trouble finding the words to continue.

"JJ? Will you go out with me tomorrow night? I know it's a Sunday, and we have work Monday, but I don't want to wait until next weekend. Please?" Emily asked. _She looks nervous too_, JJ realized. _She just asked me out! I just got asked out on a date by Emily! And I want to go!_

JJ nodded. "Yeah. I'd like that." JJ felt her stomach grumble. "But meanwhile how about we eat this food!" JJ said pulling back her hand and picking up her silverware. She cut a piece of chocolate chip pancake and put it in her mouth. The pancakes were perfect, light and fluffy with just the right amount of chocolate chips…not over the top at all. "Oh my god! These pancakes are delicious. Here you gotta taste this." JJ cut off another bite and reached out her fork to Emily who ate it off the fork. JJ pulled her hand back and blushed. _Wow, we're acting like a real couple!_

"Wow those are amazing." Emily said, once she'd swallowed the bite.

They continued eating, and had the occasional awkward glance towards each other. From time to time they caught each other's eyes. Every time that happened JJ felt her cheeks start to flush. She couldn't believe how much she liked Emily, and how much she liked sitting there eating breakfast with her.

"So who exactly plans the dates when it's two girls? I mean do you or do I or do we take turns?" JJ asked, trying to figure the situation out.

Emily looked slightly surprised. "I don't know. I haven't thought about it. It's not like I'm more experienced at this than you are." She replied. "But I'll plan this date. Trust me. Ok?"

"I do." JJ said, realizing she really did. She trusted Emily like she'd never trusted anyone before. "You plan, you pay, right?" JJ said and winked at Emily who just smiled.

"This time." Emily replied, and winked back.


	22. Chapter 22

Emily was pacing around her room. She had volunteered to be in charge of the first date, but now she was clueless as to what to do. She wanted it to be perfect. _Is this how guys feel before a first date?_ She wondered. She was nervous. Everything she thought of sounded corny or not good enough. _Dinner and a movie? No! Way too overdone! Picnic on the beach followed by a stroll? In the fall by the Atlantic? What am I thinking? It'll be far too cold!_ An image of what JJ would look like in a bikini flashed into Emily's head and her stomach fluttered. _Wow, she'd be so hot in a bikini! Ok, focus. Get a grip. First date…what to do on a first date…_ Images of JJ and her in a hot tub flashed into her mind. She felt herself getting turned on. _Wow, I'm being turned on by thoughts of a girl._ _This is going to take some adjusting to. Ok so what about…a nice romantic dinner followed by dancing? That could be a lot of fun. Maybe a little salsa dancing? _Emily had it. She was going to cook for JJ and then take her dancing. She knew JJ loved dancing, but work always seemed to prevent her from doing so very often. _Ok so what should I cook?_ She struggled through her new dilemma. Emily wasn't the greatest cook in the world, but she could follow a recipe and had had a few successful dinner parties. She almost wanted to show off for JJ, to show her that she could cook and have JJ be impressed. She felt stupid for feeling that way, but at the same time, she knew she wanted to impress JJ. _JJ loves Thai food doesn't she? I'll make her a nice Thai meal, then we'll go salsa dancing. And we'll be dancing really close and I'll have an excuse to hold her against me…_ Emily's thoughts trailed off as images of kissing JJ on the dance floor floated through her head. She smiled. The thought…well to be honest it turned her on. Emily had spent the past several days thinking more or less nonstop about JJ, but she'd barely let herself admit half of her thoughts to herself. Now that she really had a chance to be with JJ, the thoughts she'd shut out came flooding in.

Emily shook her head to help her focus. She needed to find a recipe. She needed to go shopping. She needed to make sure her place was clean. Ok, sure JJ had been over the day before, but this was different. This was a date. An official date. With JJ. _Oh God,_ Emily thought as her stomach muscles tightened and nervousness set in,_ What if the date goes horribly wrong? What if I screw up and JJ thinks it was a mistake to give me a chance? What if we go dancing and run into people from work? What will we say? Will we say that we're just out there for fun? Or that we're on a date? No, because we don't want people to know we're dating. Law enforcement's bad enough as a woman. If they knew we were lesbians, or bisexuals, or whatever we are then we'd never get any respect. We've worked too hard to earn respect just to lose it that fast!_ Emily was suddenly really stressed. Replacing the images of her and JJ dancing, images of the many ways that the date could go wrong suddenly filled her head. _Emily, breathe…just take one problem at a time. Go find a recipe!_


	23. Chapter 23

The doorbell rang and Emily glanced around the room. The candles were lit, the lights were on, but dimmed low, the food was on the table, and she had to admit it looked really good. It smelled really good too. She went to the door and opened it. What she saw took her breath away. JJ stood there in a little royal blue dress with thin straps that flowed gorgeously and hugged her body in all the right places. JJ had obviously taken advantage of the unseasonably warm night to wear this dress. She had also taken the time to curl her hair in loose curls that hung around her face, framing it perfectly.

"Wow!" Emily blushed at her own reaction as she saw JJ blush as well. "I mean…wow! You look incredible Jayj."

Emily held open the door and JJ walked inside.

"Thanks." She replied, still blushing. "You look pretty incredible yourself."

Emily was wearing a little black dress. Typical, she knew, but it did look good on her. It had spaghetti straps and, she'd been told by more than one person, that it accentuated her curves just right. She'd hoped that JJ would appreciate it.

"Thanks." She said. The two women stood in silence for a minute, grinning awkwardly at each other.

"Food smells good." JJ said, breaking the silence.

"Oh, thanks. It's Chicken Satay with peanut sauce and some Pad Thai. I hope you like it."

"Ooooh! Thai food! My favorite! I'm sure I'll love it. Thanks Em!" JJ sounded enthusiastic, and Emily smiled.

Emily led JJ to the dining room and they sat down.

"So are we eating in here because there aren't any cupboards in here for you to hit your head on?" JJ teased. Emily grinned.

"Now why wouldn't I want there to be cupboards to hit my head on? As I recall I got a kiss out of that situation last time!" She winked at the blonde who grinned back at her.

This felt right. It felt comfortable, sitting there with JJ. Emily felt herself beginning to relax as they eased into a conversation and she served them both some food. Her worries from earlier were replaced by simple enjoyment of the situation, of being there with JJ.

"Oh my God, this is delicious!" JJ exclaimed, savoring her first bite. "You know I wouldn't have guessed it based on the popcorn attempt the other night, but you're an amazing cook. I might just have to move in with you if you cook like this every day!" JJ froze. Emily knew she'd realized what she'd just said. Emily knew that JJ hadn't really meant that she'd move in with her. Or, well, not in the moving in together relationship kind of way. Emily was debating whether or not to tease her or ease her fears that she knew JJ was joking. She grinned wickedly as she decided on the former.

"Move in with me, huh? Don't you think it's a bit soon in the relationship?" Emily winked.

JJ looked slightly shocked and started to defend herself but then she looked up into Emily's twinkling eyes and knew she was being teased. She blushed.

"Well I was thinking that way we'd save on gas money cause we could commute to work." She grinned back at Emily, who laughed.

"Yeah well with gas prices being what they are these days, that doesn't sound like a bad idea."

The two women settled into the conversation. They were friends after all. They'd never had trouble talking to each other. It was a little different now. Their chemistry changing from friends to, well, to more than friends. The playfulness they now showed each other had a sexual base. Innuendos took on new meanings. Emily felt comfortable though. She was watching the gorgeous woman across the table from her. Her lips glistened in the candle light and Emily wanted nothing more than to capture them in her own. Emily tore her eyes away from JJ's inviting lips and brought them up to gaze into her twinkling blue eyes. She could get lost in those eyes. She could feel herself really and truly falling for JJ. It scared her a little. She didn't open up easily. She didn't trust easily. She felt that she could trust JJ though. She felt she could fall in love with JJ, if she'd let herself, and that thought scared her.


	24. Chapter 24

JJ had thoroughly enjoyed dinner. It had been truly delicious and Emily had just been incredible company. They'd joked and laughed and flirted and it had seemed so natural. It was very obvious to both of them that this was more than just friends hanging out. It was definitely a date. On the other hand, there was a comfort level there that JJ knew she'd never had with someone she'd dated before. Emily had tidied up a bit then they had driven to a little hole in the wall salsa club that had a really fun atmosphere. The car ride had been fun. More pleasant conversation and some teasing.

As they stood at the bar, looking around at the people dancing they were both also scanning for faces they recognized. They were nervous that they'd run into someone from work. As right as this felt with Emily, JJ just wasn't ready for other people to know. Ok, Hotch and Garcia both knew, but that was different. She could just imagine what Morgan would say. He'd probably crack some joke about watching JJ and Emily in bed together or something. And Reid, poor Reid would look so confused and hurt. JJ hated when he got that puppy dog look. And Rossi, well, Rossi could go a couple of ways, but JJ wasn't completely sure that he fully respected the female agents to begin with, she wasn't about to give him any more reasons to not take the two of them seriously. And forget about the rest of the team. What about the rest of the FBI? What about the local sheriff's offices they had to interact with? Especially those in Middle-Of-Nowhere, USA where everyone was closed minded? No, she and Emily could certainly never be out and together out in the field. Law enforcement was so much of a boy's club anyway, it would just make it unbearable for them if others found out. JJ felt her stomach tighten at these thoughts, but right then she felt Emily's hand brush down her arm then grab her hand. She looked up into Emily's dark brown eyes and couldn't help but smile at the mischievous gleam she saw there.

Emily pulled JJ to her and whispered softly in her ear. "I think we're good. I didn't see anyone we know, did you?"

JJ was suddenly distracted by the warmth she felt wherever her body was touching Emily's. All she could do was shake her head.

"Good, then that means I can do this," Emily placed one hand in the curve of JJ's back, sending a tingle down JJ's spine, and then Emily brought her other hand under JJ's chin, tilting JJ's head upwards to meet her kiss. Their lips met slowly at first, almost cautiously. JJ really wasn't much for public displays of affection, but the electricity that seemed to run through her body when her lips were touching Emily's made it seem worth it. She kissed back harder. Her tongue slipped into Emily's mouth and was met with a soft, sweet, massaging tongue in return. The hand on JJ's back pulled her closer. JJ felt the whole front of her body pressing against Emily's. She was intensely aware of every sensation. After a minute they broke the kiss. Both were slightly out of breath. JJ looked around and noticed they'd attracted the attention of some of the male clientele. JJ blushed.

"Maybe we should go dance now." JJ said taking Emily's hand and leading her to the dance floor, while simultaneously trying to get control of her hormones which seemed to want to take Emily home and do a different kind of dance. JJ wasn't that type of girl though. She didn't sleep with somebody on the first date, male or female. But, wow! There was no denying her physical attraction to Emily. The two women held each other close as they began to dance. It was a quick _merengue_ piece playing. JJ knew how to dance. She'd taken dance when she was younger, though she never progressed as far with it as she did with soccer. She'd all but given dance up by the time college came around. She still loved it though. Emily must have known she loved it when she chose this as a location for their first date. JJ grinned at the thought that Emily knew her that well. She took a minute to revel in the fact that she was there and dancing with Emily and could feel parts of Emily's body moving against parts of hers. It was very sensual. Emily obviously knew how to dance as well. JJ noted how gracefully the older woman's body moved as Emily spun her then pulled her back close to her. The sexual electricity between them was undeniable. Emily spun JJ again and when she pulled her back, JJ grabbed Emily and kissed her briefly, but passionately, before spinning away again. She glanced at Emily's face to see a big grin there. A sexy grin. A suggestive grin. JJ felt herself getting hot and she knew it wasn't just because of dancing. She was caught up in the sexiness of the situation, in the heat between her and Emily, in the beat of the music. A salsa song was playing now, and the two women had adjusted their dance steps accordingly. They flowed well together as they gazed into each other's eyes and held each other close. Salsa dancing had been a really good idea.


	25. Chapter 25

Emily pulled up back at her house. She and JJ had said very little to each other on the way back from the club. The sexual electricity between them hadn't dissipated when they'd left the club, and JJ was worried that if she said anything her voice would betray her desire. She wasn't going to sleep with Emily. Not on a first date. Much as she wanted to. She really wanted to start this relationship off slow. She wasn't even sure what exactly to do in bed with another women. The two women got out of the car in silence. JJ looked at her car, then at Emily's house. She wasn't sure how she felt about a goodnight kiss outside, and she definitely wanted a goodnight kiss. In the club kissing had been different. She'd been caught up in the music and, ok, the alcohol she'd had a little too. Here on this quite suburban Virginia street, in the still fall air, it seemed strange and JJ felt uncomfortable.

"You want to come inside for some ice cream? I don't know about you, but all that dancing gave me an appetite for dessert." Emily nodded towards the house as she spoke.

"Yeah, sure." JJ replied, happy for an excuse to come inside for that kiss she kept thinking about.

JJ followed Emily into the house, trying to restrain herself from kissing Emily as she fumbled with her keys in the lock. As soon as she was inside desire overtook her. Before Emily could even flip the lights on, JJ grabbed her, turned her and had her up against the wall, their lips pressing passionately together. JJ felt heat flood through her body as Emily's arms wrapped around her waist. JJ was leaning up into Emily, her body pressed against that of the other woman. One hand wrapped behind Emily's spine, while the other one slid through Emily's silky hair. Tongue met tongue, both gently massaging and battling for dominance at the same time. The kiss was tender and passionate at the same time. Soft yet extremely sexual. It sent shivers through JJ's body, and she could feel herself getting more turned on by the second. She knew if she didn't break the kiss soon she'd end up rushing things, but she was having trouble bringing herself to pull away. _You don't want to sleep with her right now. You don't want to rush things_. She reminded herself. With every inch of her body yelling at her, JJ forced herself to break the kiss and take a step back. Her body immediately ached for the feeling of Emily's pressing against it. She felt suddenly cold and shivered involuntarily.

"Em…" She couldn't voice her thoughts, Her mind was still too overwhelmed by the hormones coursing through her veins.

"You're right." Emily said, nodding. JJ knew that Emily understood what JJ couldn't voice. "It's too soon. We need to take it slow. You're an incredible kisser though. I don't know if I'll ever get enough of your lips.

JJ blushed. Emily's voice sounded a little ragged and she was breathing heavily. The effect was rather sexy. JJ took another step back for good measure. "I'm just not ready yet."

"No, I don't think I am either." Emily replied understandingly. She laughed a little. "I'm not sure I'd even know what to do if we went any further. I guess we'll figure it out, huh?"

"I guess so. Though you certainly seemed to know what you were doing right then. Your lips are…and your tongue…and…" JJ drifted off. She knew her sexual desire was evident in her raspy voice. "So that dessert?" _Some ice cream might help me cool down a little. That and a cold shower when I get home._ She thought to herself.

"You mean that wasn't dessert enough for you?" Emily teased, winking. "Cause I thought that was a great dessert!"

JJ glared playfully. "Nah. I think ice cream's better." She stuck out her tongue.

"Oh yeah?" Emily asked, and she advanced to JJ and, before JJ knew what was happening she was pinned against the wall with Emily's tongue in her mouth. Emily's knee slid between JJ's legs and pressed against her. JJ couldn't help herself; a small moan escaped her lips.

"Em…" She mumbled into the brunette's mouth. Emily pulled away and immediately JJ's body began to protest again.

"Right. Sorry. So, ice cream?" Emily asked stepping backwards and turning to head to the kitchen.

"Yeah." JJ said breathily as she recovered from the intensity of the kiss. "Ice cream sounds good." JJ followed Emily into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Being in the room where they had shared their first kiss was not helping JJ calm down at all. She watched as Emily got bowls out of the cupboard, then the ice cream out of the freezer, and an ice cream scoop out of a drawer. JJ couldn't help thinking how sexy she looked as she moved around the kitchen, her dress clinging to her body in all the right places. The ice cream was mint chocolate chip, she noticed, her favorite. Obviously her girlfriend had good taste. JJ froze. _Girlfriend? Did I just think of Emily as my girlfriend? We haven't discussed anything yet. JJ don't get ahead of yourself! Oh God! Is Emily my girlfriend? Is she going to be my girlfriend?_ Somehow the word sounded so strange in her head. Emily set down a bowl of ice cream in front of her, tearing her away from her thoughts. She looked at Emily as the older woman sat down across the small table from her and smiled. Emily smiled back at her and she felt her heart sore. _Maybe I'll deal with that some other time. For now, just enjoy the moment, JJ!_

Emily lay in her bed replaying the date in her mind. She'd taken a cold shower as soon as JJ had left. They'd kept the kiss goodnight lighter and softer than the two earlier ones. Neither of them trusted themselves enough to have another deeper more intense kiss. Emily wasn't normally like that on a first date. She was normally much more reserved, just feeling the other person out. Of course, with JJ, she already knew her and didn't need to feel her out, but it was more than that. It was like she was a horny teenager again, completely not in control of her hormones. She was just so attracted to JJ. And JJ's lips felt so… Emily's thoughts trailed off as she remembered the kiss. She shook her head. _You're gonna need another cold shower at the rate you're going._ Emily smiled as she remembered how gorgeous JJ had looked on the dance floor. Man could that woman move! Emily had been so turned on watching JJ dance, and feeling JJ's body rub against her as they moved together. She had wanted JJ so bad by the time they'd left the club, but she knew she couldn't sleep with her yet. It might ruin everything, and she really didn't want to do that. Besides Emily didn't sleep with people on the first date. She'd never been more tempted than tonight though. She wasn't sure she knew how to sleep with JJ, but she was looking forward to figuring it out. It would certainly be a fun adventure. A really, really fun adventure. A really, really fun, hot, sexy adventure. _Ok, calm down Emily! Just go to sleep before you become too horny again._ Emily sighed. She wanted to take it slow, but at the same time, she wasn't sure how long she could hold out. Hopefully they'd work it out and whenever it happened, hopefully it'd feel right. Emily pulled the covers up tighter around her and turned to her side. Images of what it might be like with JJ drifted into her head and consumed her dreams as she drifted off to sleep.


	26. Chapter 26

"Agent Jareau." JJ answered her cell.

"Ok, so what happened?" Garcia's voice came through the phone. "Dish, sweetheart."

"Huh?" JJ looked at her clock and groaned. Seven a.m. She had to be at work in half an hour. She had overslept.

"What happened? How was the talk on Saturday? I refrained from calling yesterday, though it was ever so hard, cause I thought you too might be..well you know. I thought once you figured out you liked each other you might be going at it like rabbits."

JJ rolled her eyes. "Garcia," she whined. "It's only seven in the morning! Why are you so awake right now?"

"Red bull." Garcia answered plainly. "Now come on!!! Tell me what happened!! You have to tell me and I don't really think you want to tell me at work. So start talkin' missy!"

JJ tried to focus, but sleep was clouding her brain. She had stayed out way too late. It'd been so worth it though. Memories of the night before flooded into her mind.

"The conversation went well. And no we were not going at it like rabbits all day. Nothing of the sort. But we did have our first date yesterday." JJ said and couldn't help but smile.

"Awww. You two are too cute. Ok, go on. I need details here, Jayj." Garcia insisted.

"She made me dinner. It was amazing. Seriously I didn't want to stop eating, it tasted so good. And then she took me dancing." JJ recounted.

"Ooooh! Sounds sexy!" Garcia interjected.

"Do you want the story or not?"

"I want it. I want it."

"Then hush." JJ scolded, then continued. "So we went salsa dancing and we danced close and had the occasional kiss, and then we went back to her place for some ice cream, and then I went home." JJ felt her cheeks flush at the details she was leaving out.

"That's it? That's not much of a story! No more kisses? No hot and heavy make out sessions? No groping? Come on, you gotta give me something here!"

"Garcia!" JJ blushed deeper. "That is none of your business. Emily and I really wanna keep things private."

"Sweetie, I am not just everyone. I'm your best friend. You _need_ to tell me." Garcia stated matter-of-factly.

"Fine. There was a kiss goodnight."

"That's it? Just a basic kiss? Come on, Jayj! What kind of a kiss. What part of details are you not understanding here?" JJ sighed. Garcia was not going to let her get away with a vague answer, that much was clear.

"An incredible goodnight kiss. Or two. Or three…Oh my God Garcia, I've never dated such an amazing kisser!" JJ gave in to her friend's request.

"Aww…I'm so happy for you sweetie! I knew Prentiss would be a good kisser!" Garcia paused. "Wait, dated? You two are dating? Like as in there's gonna be a second date?" Garcia sounded hopeful.

"Yeah I think so. I mean I hope so. I mean I like her. A lot. And she likes me. And we talked about giving this thing a real shot. Which, in my book at least, involves more than one date. We have to keep our behavior as professional as possible at work though. Ok? You have to help us keep it a secret! If the rest of the team found out…they can't find out Garcia. We'd never be respected at work again!"

"Oh come on! My sweet Brown Sugar would still respect you, even if he made a couple of playful remarks. And Hotch already knows and he still seems to respect you both. And poor little Reid would be too confused to not respect you. Rossi…well I don't know about him." Garcia admitted.

"It's not just the team. It's the other agents. And the local cops. And, oh God, Strauss! There are those no fraternization rules, after all." JJ reminded her friend.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Garcia grumbled. "Ok. I'll help you keep it a secret. But I'm not responsible for you walking around with that goofy grin you get whenever you have a good date. And I can't do anything about the glow you get after an especially fun night."

"Shut up! There's no glow! And I don't have a goofy grin!" JJ, who was getting ready for work as she talked glanced in the mirror to find a very large smile on her face. _Ok, maybe it's kinda goofy._

"Sweetie, there's a glow. The whole team knew when you finally slept with Andrew. Well, except Reid, and none of us really had the heart to tell him."

JJ blushed. _Oh crap! Just another good reason Prentiss and I should take it slow!_

"Ok, but enough about the team. I want to know more. Tell me more about those kisses. Were they deep and passionate or soft and slow and light, in a teasingly sexy kind of way. You have not given me enough detail here Jayj." Garcia got the conversation back on track.

"They were both. They were everything at once. They were incredible. Truly incredible. It was like nothing I've ever felt. They were so sexually charged, and yet somehow still tender. I can't even find words to describe it." JJ sighed heavily remembering the night before. It had really been a spectacular night. "Garcia, I gotta go, unless you really want to listen to the hum of my electric toothbrush for the next couple of minutes."

"Ok, ok! I guess that'll do for now. See you at work?"

"Before you know it. Bye." JJ hung up as she heard Garcia saying goodbye at the other end. She needed to hurry or she was going to be late. That would not be a good way to not draw attention to herself.


	27. Chapter 27

Emily was nervous. JJ was already in her office when Emily'd gotten to work. The blonde had looked across at her briefly when she'd gone to get a cup of coffee and had flashed a brilliant smile, but that was the only recognition of the new connection between them. Emily had resisted every cell in her body to stay at her desk and not follow JJ to the coffee machine. She knew that if they acted too friendly, or too close, or too distant, the rest of the team would pick up on it. That was the trouble with working with profilers. Any change from their ordinary behavior would be noticed and filed away to piece together to get the big picture. It's not like the rest of the team could just turn it off. It was part of who they were. It was part of what made them great profilers. It didn't mean that it couldn't be annoying sometimes though.

Emily wanted nothing more than to go to JJ, grab her and kiss her, but she refrained and instead sat filling in the paperwork that sometimes seemed endless. She had ten files sitting on her desk that she hadn't had a chance to get to because they'd been away so much for cases. Emily sighed at the paperwork and looked up to find JJ and Hotch having a conversation by Hotch's office. Emily wished she could go there and slip her arm around JJ's waist and join in the conversation. It wasn't like Hotch didn't know about the two of them. Or well he knew that they liked each other. It was just everyone else. As she sat watching the two talk Hotch looked up and saw her. He beckoned for her to approach. She suddenly got nervous. What could Hotch want to talk to both of them about? On top of that, she was worried at how she'd subconsciously react to being so physically close to JJ. She swallowed hard as she walked over to them, trying to calm herself so she could act as normally as possible.

"How was your weekend?" Hotch asked once Emily had joined them. Was that a slight smile on his face?

"It was good thanks. Yours?" Emily replied politely.

"It was fine. I was able to get some quality time in with Jack." Hotch replied then stepped towards his office, indicating that the two women should follow. Which they did after a quick, nervous glance at each other.

"So I take it from your lack of outright avoidance this morning that you two took my advice and talked." He stated matter-of-factly as he closed the door behind them.

Emily glanced at JJ who squirmed a little. She was obviously uncomfortable about discussing her private life at work. Emily nodded at Hotch who was looking at her expectantly.

"And things worked out well?" He inquired.

Emily nodded again.

"Neither of you is in trouble here. You don't have to look quite so much like deer caught in the headlights. I am fully aware of the Bureau's position of interoffice fraternization, but as far as I'm concerned if you two can keep it out of the office, keep it from interfering with our work and with the team, then we don't have a problem." Hotch said, flashing a rare smile at the two women.

"Hotch. Shouldn't we not talk to you about this, though? You'll have a hard time pleading ignorance if we confirm having a relationship to you and then Strauss finds out." Emily was genuinely concerned for her boss.

"Emily, I think I'll have a hard time pleading ignorance anyway. I am a profiler. I am the head of this team. I know this team like nobody else does, and Strauss is all too aware of that after previous incidents. I'm glad the two of you are taking a chance on each other. You both deserve some happiness." Hotch flashed another smile.

JJ and Emily exchanged a look. Neither of them had actually said anything, and yet Hotch still knew. He really was an incredible profiler. Emily just hoped the rest of the team wasn't as observant. Well, not about their fellow team members at least.

"Ok, well I think that's quite enough talk about this subject at work. I assume you two are planning to try to keep this a secret, for now at least?"

JJ nodded confirmation.

"Good. Ok, well then on to business. JJ already knows, but I am due to give some lectures at Georgetown this week. Rossi and Reid are going to be off on interviews this week as well. I'd like you, JJ, and Morgan to spend some time catching up on paperwork. I know we've been busy, but I need your forms on the Henderson case at least by the end of the week please, Emily."

"Yeah, sure. Not a problem." Emily felt slightly dazed. First Hotch was talking about her and JJ, and at work too, and then almost in an instant he was all business. As Hotch's words sunk in, Emily realized exactly what that meant. For the next week, she, JJ, Morgan, and Garcia would be around the office relatively alone. That would mean that she and JJ might be able to relax a little. Just a little. Morgan was still a brilliant profiler. And his friendship with Emily meant that he might pick up on the subtle differences in her behavior more easily than Reid or Rossi would.

"Oh, and for my first lecture this afternoon, I'm actually going to bring Morgan along. He's going to give a seminar next month, and I think he could benefit from a little more classroom exposure before then." Hotch added nonchalantly.

To Emily, though, it seemed like Hotch had almost planned this out. Of course Hotch had figured out that Garcia already knew about Emily and JJ. And here he was taking everyone else out of the equation for that afternoon. So if she and JJ wanted to talk, or… Emily couldn't bring herself to finish the thought in the presence of her boss. She glanced at JJ who was smiling at her. Emily smiled back.

"Do either of you need anything else?" Hotch asked.

The two women shook their heads.

"Ok, well I need to review some notes before I head over to the university. I'll see you both later." Hotch dismissed them politely.

JJ and Emily took the hint and after a quick goodbye, left Hotch's office. Emily made to head back to her desk, but was stopped when JJ's hand tugged her the other direction. Emily followed JJ to her office where JJ shut the door. The blinds were already closed from Friday when JJ had been trying to avoid the rest of the team.

JJ hesitated for a moment at the door then moved behind her desk. Emily could guess that JJ was feeling the intensity between them as well. Without the desk between them, Emily wasn't sure she could resist the urge to kiss JJ.

"So the office is essentially ours this afternoon." JJ broke the silence. "Wanna bring your paperwork in here? We can keep each other company." JJ looked hopeful.

Emily raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah, and how much work will I get done." She grinned suggestively.

JJ blushed. "We are still at work. And there's cameras in here don't forget. I just…I thought it might be nice to spend the time together. It might take our minds off of how gruesome the cases are if we can look up and see each other."

Emily considered this. On the one hand, what JJ said was true. On the other hand, just being near JJ distracted Emily. It was as if, even when Emily wasn't looking at JJ, her body was acutely aware of the presence of the other woman. Emily jumped slightly when a knock came at the door.

"Yeah?" JJ called out.

Garcia, not waiting for an invite, came into the room, closing the door behind her.

"Aww. Look at you two sitting here together. You two are so cute." Garcia gushed.

"Garcia! Shhh!" JJ looked flustered.

"Oh, come now. I was just watching the office security tapes seeing if anything interesting was happening, and I just happened to see the two of you in here, and thought I'd stop by to see the happy couple together in person."

"Garcia, will you keep it down!" Emily was worried that Garcia would be overheard. The rest of the team hadn't left the bullpen yet, after all. "Look, the rest of the team will be away this afternoon, you can talk to us then, but please, we don't want anyone else to find out, remember?

"Yes, yes, I know. I'm sorry. I just couldn't resist. You two are just the cutest couple I've ever seen!"

"Garcia!" Emily and JJ simultaneously tried to hush Garcia who was giggling.

"Ok, Ok! Can I come back later? Oh and don't you two forget there are cameras in here and start making out or something! I just hack into the system to watch, but I'm not the only one watching. There are people actually paid to watch them. While I'm sure they'd enjoy the show, but it wouldn't help keep your secret darlings."

"Don't worry Garcia, we're not teenagers. It's not like we can't control ourselves!" JJ replied.

Emily nodded agreement with JJ, but inside she wasn't sure. For her at least it felt like she couldn't keep her hands off of JJ, or at least didn't want to. All she wanted to do was close the gap between them and feel those soft lips on hers. Did JJ not feel the same? Was it not quite as…passionate on her end? Emily suddenly felt slightly insecure. She had felt heat radiating from the other woman when they were making out the night before, but maybe it had been just for the moment. Maybe it wasn't constant for JJ, like it was for Emily. Emily furrowed her brows.

"I'm gonna go do some work." She said.

JJ shot her a puzzled look. "Bring it in here."

"Yeah. Maybe. In a bit. After people leave and stuff." Emily replied.

"Oh. Ok." JJ said quietly.

Emily felt slightly bad leaving JJ so coldly. She could feel JJ's and Garcia's eyes watching her leave. The thought of JJ not feeling the same passion, the same uncontrollable urge to be together, really upset Emily. As her body yelled at her to turn around and walk back to JJ's office, Emily ground her teeth and kept going to her desk. When she got there she slumped down into her chair, barely glancing at her paperwork, and sighed. She wanted to be back in JJ's office. She was overreacting over nothing and she knew it. She looked around the office. Rossi and Reid were leaving. Hotch was still in his office and Morgan was…

"Hey there. What mischief did you get up to this weekend?" Morgan asked, plopping himself down on the only corner of Emily's desk not cluttered with files.

"I never get into mischief, Morgan. I don't know what you're talking about!" Emily replied.

Morgan winked at Emily. "Yeah right. Sure, play the innocent angel act. Remember I'm a profiler, sweetie. You're just making me think something interesting _did_ happen this weekend."

"Nope." Emily tried to sound nonchalant, but she worried her voice was betraying her. _Great! Now I'm gonna profile everything I do to try to see what the others might be seeing!_ "What about you? Another hot date, Morgan?"

"Hey, now! You know me. Don't say 'another' like I'm going out with a different girl every night. And no. I did not have a hot date this weekend. For your information, I just chilled at home with the dog. We just watched some football, and drank some beer. It was a good way to unwind."

"No demoing anything in a house? And, wait, you gave your dog beer?" Emily teased.

"Ha ha. Very clever. No, I drank all the beer. And I did demo two walls in this one house in Dumfries on Saturday afternoon. Opening up the living room."

"Cool…" Emily replied, unsure of what else to say.

"So what about you? What'd you do? Really."

Emily shrugged. "Nothing really. Went to IHOP one morning for breakfast. That's about it." She replied as casually as possible. _Ok, so I went to IHOP with JJ and oh yeah I kissed her and we went on our first date this weekend and it was amazing, at least I thought it was amazing…_ Her brain filled in the rest of the truth, while her mouth wisely stayed shut.

"Well that sounds like an exciting weekend. You looked really happy this morning when you came in, so here I was thinking maybe you were the one who'd had a hot date, but I'm guessing not if IHOP was the highlight of your weekend." Morgan sighed as he stood up.

"Sorry to disappoint." Emily shrugged, barely able to contain her grin.

"Alright, well I'm outta here in about an hour with Hotch. You ladies have a good day around here, but be good. I don't wanna come back to find some photo-shopped picture of me as the background to all the office computers, ok? Make sure my sexy goddess of knowledge behaves herself."

"Are you talking about me, my chocolate hunk of lovin'?" Garcia inquired appearing behind Morgan.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am. I mean it Garcia. I don't want to find any photo-shopped surprises."

"Darlin' I already told you once, you'll never find them." Garcia said with a wink.

Emily couldn't help but laugh. Morgan and Garcia together were always hilarious. They had this unbreakable bond that Emily had always admired. When she'd first joined the team she'd found it a bit intimidating, but now she could appreciate it.

"I'll keep her in line. Don't worry Morgan." Emily laughed.

"You can try." Garcia said wiggling her eyebrows.

Morgan grinned as he rolled his eyes. "I'll see you ladies later. I'm going to go and try to get some actual work done before Hotch and I leave."

"See ya later Morgan." Emily said. Garcia just winked at him as he walked past her.

Once Morgan was out of ear shot, Garcia pulled up a chair to right next to Emily.

"Ok hun, now what was that about, back in JJ's office? You suddenly went cold and left quickly without saying much or even committing to coming back. JJ definitely noticed the change, and now she's wondering what she did." Garcia whispered to Emily.

"She didn't do anything. I just wanted to come do some work." Emily replied in a hushed tone. She couldn't bring herself to voice the real reason she'd left JJ's office. It just sounded kind of silly.

Garcia gave Emily a skeptical look. "If that's really the case. Then I advise that you get back in there and tell her that before she starts dissecting and analyzing every part of your last interaction."

"I will go back, but it really does make more sense to wait until Hotch and Morgan leave."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Garcia sighed. "Just go talk to her the minute they leave. Ok? I promise I won't barge in."

"How about not watching us on the security cameras?" Emily smiled.

"Not a chance." Garcia winked as she got up and headed back to her office.

Emily rolled her eyes, and turned her attention to her paperwork.


	28. Chapter 28

JJ was trying to focus on the file in front of her, but she couldn't think of anything but Emily. Why had she left so coldly? Not a wink, or a smile even! JJ kept playing the conversation over and over in her head. She didn't know what she could have said.

She looked up when she heard a knock on her door. "Yeah?" She called out.

The door opened to reveal Emily and a stack of files. "Hey, so Morgan and Hotch just left, and I thought maybe I'd take you up on that offer to work in here. If it's still open…" Emily said questioningly.

JJ's heart soared on seeing Emily. Maybe she'd imagined the coldness earlier. "Yeah, yeah, come in." She said with a smile.

Emily smiled back and sat down across the desk from JJ, setting her files down on the desk. JJ had this uncontrollable urge to go to Emily and hug her, but she refrained, remembering Garcia's warning about the security cameras.

"I wasn't sure you were gonna take me up on my offer." JJ said timidly.

"Yeah, um, sorry about that. I didn't mean to leave so abruptly earlier it's just…I dunno. It was stupid."

"No…what? Come on. Em, you can tell me anything." JJ got up and went around her desk, taking the seat next to Emily. She put her hand tentatively on Emily's arm.

Emily put her other hand over JJ's. JJ felt comforted by the gesture.

"It really is stupid." Emily said, shaking her head.

"Please, just…just tell me anyway." JJ encouraged her.

"It was just that when you told Garcia that it wasn't like we were teenagers who couldn't keep our hand off each other…I dunno…it hurt a little. Because that's exactly what it feels like for me. I constantly want to touch you. And it made me worry that maybe it's not the same for you. I know, it sounds stupid. I just…"

"I was just saying that to Garcia. For me..I do…I just…I really…I'm the same way. Whenever I'm around you I want to be touching you and kissing you and to be honest I'm not completely sure that I trust myself to be alone with you in a room, but we're at work, and we need to remember that we're at work doing a job. And I just told Garcia that so maybe she wouldn't spend all her time spying on us in here. Though I'm sure that didn't work anyway." JJ words flew out a mile a minute. She was flustered. She wanted to make sure that Emily understood the effect that she had on her.

"Yeah, it definitely didn't work…Hey, Jayj? You think that corner there is covered by the security camera?" Emily said eyeing a dark corner of the office.

"You mean the one under the camera? Probably not." JJ said with a grin, cocking one eyebrow.

Emily stood up nonchalantly, and headed for the corner. JJ followed her lead a second later. Her blinds to her windows were still down. The minute that JJ was sure that she'd cleared the view of the camera, she pushed Emily against the wall, unable to control herself. She felt her body pressing against the brunette's, and it turned her on insanely. She captured Emily's lips in her own and felt fire race through her veins. JJ was really not sure how long she and Emily would be able to "take it slow." The effect they seemed to have on each other made that option seem somewhat impossible. JJ let her body melt into Emily's. She slipped her tongue into Emily's inviting mouth and teasingly flicked Emily's tongue with it. She pulled back, slightly out of breath, careful to stay out of view of the camera.

"How long do you think we have before Garcia marches out of her office and barges in here?" She asked while breathing heavily.

"Oh…I dunno. She's probably already on her way." Emily replied, also somewhat breathlessly.

"Well," JJ said, as she planted another soft kiss on Emily's lips, "we'd better get to work then." Her body screamed at her not to, but she pulled away from Emily and headed back behind her desk. She felt slightly empty now that she wasn't touching Emily. It was as if her body was calling out to be touching Emily's. Emily sat down on her side of the desk and pulled a file towards her. JJ watched her for a second, admiring the perfection of the other woman's body. She looked down at her work.

"What the HELL was that???" Garcia burst into the office.

"I thought you promised that you weren't going barge in." Emily said teasingly.

"That was before you two disappeared strategically off camera! So what exactly were you two doing out of the camera's range?" Garcia pressed for an answer.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Emily replied with a grin on her face.

"Well from the looks of the two of you: you glowing," Garcia said indicating Emily, "and you sitting there with a grin on your face and your lips slightly swollen," Garcia nodded towards JJ, "I'm gonna go with getting all hot and heavy. And at work no less! You two are like teenagers who can't keep their hands off each other, aren't you?" It was more an exclamation than a question, so neither woman felt the need to answer. JJ blushed and laughed. She couldn't help herself. She was like a school girl with a crush. Or more than that. A school girl in…_No!_ She stopped herself. _You are not in….in anything with Emily. You're in like with her. There you go. That works!_ The possibility of love hadn't really existed in JJ's life for a while, and it was definitely too soon to have with Emily, not to mention really scary. It wasn't exactly that JJ was a commitmentphobe, she just…she didn't like rushing in to committed relationships. Or relationships in general. She liked to take her time. But being with Emily was like nothing she'd ever felt before.

"So you were kissing! Jayj you cannot hid that blush behind a folder!" Garcia exclaimed.

JJ hadn't even realized she'd been doing it, but sure enough she'd raised the file in front of her and sunk down in her chair a little to try to hide her blush. She'd always tried to hide when she was embarrassed and blushing.

"I think it's cute." Emily said, flashing JJ a smile that made her heart leap. JJ blushed deeper and sunk down further in her chair.

"Garcia will you go back to your office so we can all try to get some work done. We are at work remember. We do have jobs to do." JJ reminded them, trying to change the subject.

"Hey, I'm not the one who was making out in the corner." Garcia replied with a wink.

"Yeah, but we weren't the ones watching hacked into video feeds." Emily retorted. The three of them giggled.

"Ok, ok. I'll leave you two love birds alone." Garcia headed for the door, then paused. "You know…I could put the feed from this office on a loop. Then you two would be able to do whatever you want." She offered.

"Yeah, but then a) you might get caught and might take us down with you, and b) somehow I have a feeling you'd still somehow manage to watch the live feed." JJ replied.

Garcia pretended to be hurt and shocked. "The Queen of the Hackers, not to mention Queen of All Technology, get caught? Never! And you think I'd sell out my friends. Ha! Just for that, I'm not looping the feed. So there!" Garcia stuck out her tongue playfully then left the office.

JJ glanced at Emily who smiled back at her, a big, genuine smile. The two shared a quick laugh, and then Garcia stuck her head back in the door.

"By the way, ladies, that supply closet down the hallway by the bathroom has no security camera. Don't know why I'm telling you this, or why it might interest you. Just idle information." Garcia said, faking being nonchalant. Then she was gone again.

JJ looked back at Emily with one eyebrow raised. Emily was looking back at her with a wicked brain.

"Well I guess we know what we're doing next time we take a break." Emily said. JJ grinned back. She had only been officially dating Emily for a day now, and already she could tell that this wasn't going to be like any other relationship she'd ever had. This was certainly shaping up to be an interesting day at the office.


	29. Chapter 29

Emily had seen JJ head to the bathroom and had stealthily slunk down the hallway to the janitor's closet. She'd kept the door slightly ajar and when she saw JJ approach she reached out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into the closet, closing the door behind them. Before JJ had a chance to react Emily had pressed her lips up against the blonde's. She relished each and every kiss with those soft, sensual lips. She craved them. That week there had been way too few. A few in JJ's office on Monday, but then Tuesday Morgan had been back, so Emily had decided she probably needed to work at her own desk to keep suspicion off of them. As it was Morgan had commented on her seeming happier and more upbeat, and had started asking questions about her having a new man in her life. If he only knew the truth! Today was Wednesday and Emily had decided that one day without kissing JJ was plenty long enough. And here she was, JJ's tongue in her mouth, bodies pressed together, praying that Garcia hadn't been lying about the lack of security camera in the closet.

"Em…" JJ gasped, in between kisses.

Emily pulled her closer as a response, slipping her knee in between JJ's legs. A small moan escaped JJ's lips as Emily led a trail of kisses down her neck.

"God, I've missed doing this. I wish Morgan was away with Hotch all week." Emily panted.

Emily felt JJ's hand leave her cheek and knew it was searching for the light switch. Emily closed her eyes and a second later the lights came on.

"Me too. " JJ agreed. She giggled then, looking at Emily.

"What?" Emily said, feeling suddenly self conscious.

"Nothing. I was just hoping that you'd see me come to the bathroom and that maybe you'd decide to test out this closet with me. And you did." JJ grinned from ear to ear.

"You are too cute. You know that?" Emily said pulling JJ in close to her again and giving her a soft kiss on the nose, followed by a deeper one on the lips. "Shame we can't disappear in here for hours." She sighed.

"It's probably a good thing we can't disappear in here for hours. I'm not sure I trust myself not to…" JJ drifted off and blushed. Emily blushed too. She knew what JJ meant. She didn't want to rush things, but with JJ she just wanted to touch and kiss her all the time, and all over.

JJ cleared her throat. "So…I was thinking. You planned the last date, so I say it's my turn. Garcia has already told me that we don't have a choice about going out to the bar with her Friday night, but I was thinking maybe we could go out for dessert afterwards? I know this great little Italian place that makes the best tiramisu. What do you say?" JJ asked.

Emily's mouth started to water. "That just happens to be my favorite dessert." She grinned. "I'm in."

Emily leaned in and kissed JJ again, long and slow. She savored every second of it knowing all too soon they'd have to head back to the office and their paperwork. Emily slid her tongue between JJ's lips and began massaging her tongue with her own. One hand was at JJ's slim waist, and Emily slid the other one through JJ's silky blonde hair as she pulled her in closer. She felt one of JJ's hands slide up her back, and it sent an electric shiver down her spine. Emily slid the fingers of the hand she had on JJ's waist under JJ's untucked shirt. She slowly caressed the soft skin there as her hand ran around behind JJ and into the hollow of her back. She felt JJ shiver, just like she had done a moment before. She felt herself getting hotter by the second. She tore her lips away from JJ's and kissed her way across the blonde's cheek til she reached her ear.

"Do you have any idea how much you turn me on?" She whispered in JJ's ear. She froze when she'd realized what she'd said; or rather that she'd said it aloud. She closed her eyes and tried to turn her head away from JJ. JJ's hand was stopping her though. Emily risked opening her eyes for a glance at the younger agent. JJ had a wicked grin on her face and had one eyebrow cocked.

"Oh yeah?" She said seductively. "Hmm…I might have a little inkling."

Emily blushed deep. She could see that JJ's lips were slightly swollen and red from the kissing they'd been doing, and was sure hers were the same.

"I think maybe we should head back to work, but maybe not both at the same time. You at least definitely have that just thoroughly kissed look. And, do you happen to have a comb, cause I kinda…" Emily tried to smooth JJ's hair as her sentence drifted off. It looked very sexy, but not very tidy from Emily's hand running through it while they'd been making out.

"Ok, how about you head out down to the bathroom and sort yourself out, while I sneak back to my office and try not attract attention." JJ suggested, taking a step back and smoothing down her shirt.

Emily sighed at the sudden distance between their bodies. She nodded in agreement with JJ's plan. "One more, quick kiss before I go?" Emily asked, looking hopeful.

JJ leaned in, laying the softest, most seductive kiss Emily had ever felt on her lips. When Emily pulled away she left the closet, giving a quick glance around to find nobody there, and headed to the bathroom.

JJ leaned back against the shelves when Emily left. She decided to wait a few minutes before leaving, hoping that anyone who's attention Emily had caught by leaving the closet would have wondered away or gotten distracted by something else. She sighed heavily. She knew it was stupid, but she felt emptier now that Emily wasn't there with her anymore. When she was with Emily she just felt so happy, and so warm and fuzzy inside. It was like being with Emily was a natural high. She'd never felt like that with anyone before. And more than that, Emily made her feel special. It was obvious that she had similar effects on the brunette.

JJ ran her hands through her hair, trying to smooth it down. She remembered the feeling of Emily's hand sliding over the bare skin of her back. It'd turned her on immensely. And then to have Emily whisper in her ear how turned on she was…JJ shivered in excitement.

After a few minutes she decided she'd better head back to her office. She moved through the hallway and the bullpen as quickly as possible, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she reached her office door that she hadn't run into anybody. She opened her door, stepped inside, and closed it quickly behind her.

"So what were you two doing in the closet, huh?"

JJ turned to find Garcia sitting in her desk chair.

"We had a conversation." JJ replied matter-of-factly, plopping down in a chair across the desk from Garcia.

"Oh yeah. Of course. Silly me. Your lips are obviously pink and puffy and your hair's all messed up from talking a lot. So what was this conversation about?" Garcia said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

JJ blushed and unconsciously ran her fingers through her hair.

"Is there a reason you're sitting in my chair?" JJ asked, ignoring Garcia's question.

"Yep. To pump you for information." Garcia replied with a grin.

JJ relented. "We talked about our second date, which is going to be on Friday."

"Ooooooh! A second date! So what're you gals gonna do?" Garcia was being inquisitive as always. "Hey, you haven't forgotten you're both coming out to the bar with me on Friday, have you?"

"No, of course I haven't forgotten. We're gonna go out for dessert after we go out to the bar."

Garcia gave a contented smile at JJ's response. "Well why don't you guys carpool to work so you just have to deal with one car?" She suggested.

"That's actually a really good idea." JJ said, thinking about it. If Emily picked her up that morning, then after the bar she could just drive them back to JJ's and they could walk to the Italian restaurant from there. Then Emily could drive home after their date. JJ made a mental note to call Emily later and suggest this. Now she had work to do though. She was also still very uncomfortable discussing her relationship at work. She was completely paranoid that Morgan or someone else would walk past and overhear something she didn't want them to.

"Could I possibly get back to work now, Garcia? And don't you have anything better to do than spy on me and Emily?"

"No! Of course not! Don't be silly! I have to keep up on my friends' love lives! But yes, I suppose I'll let you get back to work." Garcia said getting out of JJ's chair. She walked around the desk and stopped in front of JJ. She straightened a few of the last strands of messy hair and took JJ's face in her hands, tilting it so that JJ was forced to look up into Garcia's face.

"You know I only pry 'cause I love you, right?" Garcia said seriously.

"I know," JJ replied quietly as she tried to nod, but found her movement somewhat restricted by Garcia's hands. Garcia bent down and kissed her on the forehead, then left the room, closing the door behind her.

JJ sat in the chair she was in for a minute. With that one small gesture from Garcia, any annoyance she might have felt melted away and was replaced by a strong feeling of being loved. Garcia really did care about her and love her no matter who she was dating, and that meant the world to JJ. She got up slowly, made her way around to the other side of her desk, and sat down in her chair, but instead of getting to work, she opened her blinds and looked out at the bullpen. She saw Emily coming back from the bathroom. She looked calm and collected. No one would ever be able to tell that she'd just been making out with JJ in a supply closet. She watched Emily have a short conversation with Morgan and JJ couldn't help but grin when she saw Emily laugh. She was so beautiful. JJ sighed as she finally focused on the file in front of her. Friday seemed like a really long time away. It was gonna be a long rest of the week.


	30. Chapter 30

Emily was waiting for JJ to finish the last of her filing. They were about to head over to the bar to meet Garcia and Morgan who had already left half an hour before. Emily was currently standing in the doorway of JJ's office watching her file and pack up her things. She moved with a grace that Emily wasn't sure she'd noticed before. JJ seemed so focused, and the cute, determined look on her face made Emily want to take her in her arms and kiss her. _Ok, everything seems to make me want to kiss her!_ Emily admitted to herself. It'd been so nice to pick JJ up that morning: seeing her first thing; kissing her first thing. It had made Emily's day, and now she was looking at spending the whole evening with JJ. It had taken all of Emily's energy to not walk around with a goofy grin all day. As it was, Morgan had noticed Emily being more upbeat in the past week and had surmised she was in a new relationship. As of yet, he fortunately seemed fairly convinced it was a relationship with a guy. Emily knew it was only a matter of time before he figured it out. She could only hope that when he did, his opinion of her and JJ wouldn't change and he'd keep the information about them to himself.

"Ready," JJ said, grabbing her purse and her jacket and stopping in front of Emily. "Sorry about the wait."

"No problem," Emily replied, breathing in the sweet scent of JJ's shampoo. She smiled at the blonde, who smiled back at her. Emily headed towards the elevators and she felt JJ fall into step next to her. She wanted so badly to take JJ's hand, but restrained herself. She knew the security cameras were still watching.

"My, my, my! How do I get so lucky as to go out with three sexy women such as yourselves?" Morgan asked when JJ and Emily made their way over to the table he and Garcia had gotten, each woman holding a mug of beer.

"You're just that hot, Morgan." Emily teased.

He grinned at her. "Better not let your new boyfriend hear you talking like that." He teased back.

Emily and JJ exchanged a quick look.

"What makes you think I have a boyfriend, Morgan?"

"Oh come on, Emily! You so totally have a new love interest. And unless you've suddenly switched teams on me, you definitely have a new boyfriend." Morgan replied.

Emily, who had been taking a swig of beer, choked.

"Whoa there, Em! Drink much?" Morgan teased more.

Emily just glared back at him.

"You ok?" Emily looked up to see JJ's eyes full of concern. Emily nodded as a she coughed a little more.

"Yeah." She finally managed to croak. "Thanks."

"Good." JJ replied, flashing the brunette a smile. Emily's heart fluttered. She smiled back, she couldn't help herself.

"Wait…" Morgan said quietly, just audible over the music.

"What?" Emily said rolling her eyes and turning her attention back to Morgan. He was looking back and forth between JJ and Emily. Emily felt her heart speed up. She was suddenly very nervous. Had Morgan just figured it out?

"Nothing." Morgan replied, shaking his head. "I just got the craziest idea. You have me so curious about who your new boyfriend is that I'm starting to read too much into your other interactions."

Emily forced out a laugh. Her heart was still racing though.

"I almost thought for a second that maybe you and JJ were hooking up. I think I've been working too hard! I mean can you imagine?...Actually, now that I imagine it, it's pretty hot. You two should try it!" Morgan said with grin.

Emily didn't dare look at JJ. She was sure the younger woman was blushing, but Morgan would probably attribute it to the subject of the conversation rather than that he was right. Emily decided the safest course of action was to glare at Morgan.

"Hey hot chocolate…how about you stop bugging Emily and come dance with me." Garcia said, standing up and reaching out her hand for Morgan to take.

"You got it my sexy tech goddess." Morgan replied, taking the offered hand and following her out onto the dance floor.

When they were out of earshot, Emily let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God for Garcia." JJ's words echoed Emily's thoughts.

"No kidding. As hard a time as she gives us, she still obviously has our backs." Emily said.

"That's for sure." JJ agreed. "Even still, I dunno how much longer we'll be able to keep this from Morgan. He just knows us too well."

"Unfortunately, you're right." Emily sighed again.

"Dance with me?" JJ asked, looking hopeful.

"Yeah, 'cause that's gonna help Morgan not find out." Emily replied sarcastically.

"Oh come on. Girls dance with girls all the time. And I really wanna dance with you." JJ said taking Emily's hand.

_I think dancing can be arranged for later_. Emily thought to herself. But no. She really wasn't ready to sleep with JJ yet. Emily followed JJ onto the dance floor and they began dancing as if they were any set of female friends out on a dance floor. Every move that JJ made had the effect of turning Emily on even more, though. She wasn't sure how long she'd be able to dance with the blonde before she broke down and kissed her. Every time their bodies brushed each other's it sent sensual shivers through Emily's body. After a few songs, Emily grabbed JJ's wrist and pulled her in close.

"I think it's time for our date to start." She whispered in JJ's ear. JJ glanced quickly at Emily's face, and with a twinkle in her eye, nodded. She left Emily and went to find Garcia and Morgan to say goodbye. Emily knew she should follow along or she'd get an irate phone call from Garcia later, asking why she hadn't said goodbye. She couldn't help but glance at JJ's gorgeous ass as she walked in front of her. It was so round and perfect. Emily felt herself get even more turned on. Just then they found Garcia and Morgan dancing up a storm.

"We're gonna head out. We're really tired." JJ called over the music to Garcia, who winked at JJ.

"See you ladies at the office on Monday." Morgan said. "And Emily, you be good with that boyfriend of yours. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Emily blushed. "Goodnight Morgan. Night Garcia." She waved goodbye to her friends, then pushed towards the door of the bar. As she and JJ exited the bar and headed for the car, Emily felt JJ take her hand.

"I know I'm risking being seen, but Em, I can't not touch you right now." JJ whispered.

Emily glanced sideways at the blonde, who was blushing, and trying to act normal. "It's ok. I know what you mean." She whispered back as she gave JJ's hand a little squeeze. They got to the car, reluctantly let go of each other's hands, got in, and drove away.


	31. Chapter 31

The cool night air did nothing to dissipate the heat that JJ was feeling as they walked to the Italian restaurant. Since they were in JJ's neighborhood, they refrained from holding hands, in case they ran into anyone she knew. It was like torture. They got to the restaurant and went in, the owner greeting JJ warmly. She went there a lot, and it was a small, family owned business. They had almost taken JJ in as family, she frequented their restaurant so much. That's why she'd felt comfortable bringing Emily there. She knew, that even if they sensed it was a date they wouldn't judge and they liked her enough not to say anything to others in the neighborhood. The owner looked back and forth between the two women and grinned. He led them to a booth in the back corner. On the way to the table he whispered to JJ, "She is a very pretty girl. I see why you like her." JJ blushed. Was it that obvious already? She glanced at Emily. He wasn't lying. She was drop dead gorgeous. JJ sighed contentedly.

"So what can I get for you ladies tonight? Food or just some…dessert?" He wiggled his eyebrows when he said dessert.

JJ giggled. "Just some tiramisu please, Alessandro."

"Ok, tiramisu coming up!" He said with a wink, and went off to the kitchen.

JJ turned to see Emily looking at her with her mouth hanging open. "He could tell that easily?" She asked incredulously.

"I've been coming here for a while, and I've brought a couple of friends here. I guess he could tell that you were different. Alessandro's great though. Don't worry." JJ tried to reassure her friend…her girlfriend…well was she her girlfriend? JJ wasn't sure. "Can I ask you something?"

Emily nodded and JJ swallowed hard, trying to form coherent sentences in her head.

"Are we…I mean, ok, I know we're dating, but…are we… I mean are you my…Am I your…what're we doing here? What would you call me? How would you introduce me to someone?" JJ asked suddenly feeling extremely insecure.

"You mean, besides JJ?" Emily asked with a grin. JJ knew she was trying to ease the tension that had emerged between the two. JJ was too nervous, however, so she just swallowed hard and nodded as she looked down at her hands. .

Emily's face grew serious. "I dunno Jayj. I guess…I think…I mean, I want…my gut instinct would be to call you my girlfriend."

JJ glanced up, her heart soaring. She saw Emily's cheeks flushing and she reached across the table and took the brunette's hand to reassure her. "Good. 'Cause I'd want you to call me your girlfriend. And I think of you as mine." It was JJ's turn to blush. Emily squeezed her hand.

Just then Alessandro reappeared. "Tiramisu for my favorite FBI agent, and her…friend." A special emphasis was put on the word friend.

JJ couldn't resist. "Girlfriend." She whispered. This comment elicited a big smile from Alessandro.

"I'm happy to hear it Jennifer." He said and left them to enjoy their dessert.

When they were two houses away from JJ's, she risked taking Emily's hand. She just needed to touch her, she wasn't thinking about who might see them. She saw Emily stumble slightly next to her. Alessandro had decided that they needed a bottle of wine so had given them one on the house. They had then proceeded to drink the bottle.

"Um…Jayj? I don't think I should drive home." Emily said.

"Good, babe, 'cause I wasn't gonna let you." JJ replied, turning up the walk to her front door.

She let go of Emily's hand to her keys out. She fumbled slightly with the lock, as Emily was standing right behind her, and had placed a hand on her hip. She got the door open, and let Emily walk inside first. She closed and locked the door behind them, then she turned to look at Emily. Without thinking she stepped towards the brunette and captured her lips in her own. The kiss grew more passionate, until Emily, slightly unsteady from the alcohol, lost her balance a little.

"Here…let me get the guest room set up for you." JJ said, taking a step back and trying to control her hormones.

"No, Jayj, don't be silly. Don't go to the trouble of a guest room. I'll be fine on the couch."

"No, it's no trouble really. Just give me a second." JJ said, heading up the stairs. She opened the door to her guest room/office. She kept it fairly tidy. Sheets were sitting neatly on the bed and she threw them on quickly. She grabbed a blanket from the hall closet and tossed it on the bed, then she headed back downstairs. Emily was sitting on the couch. She smiled when JJ saw her.

"Here, let me show you to your room." JJ said.

"Yeah sure, but hey, do you have anything I could borrow to sleep in?" Emily asked.

"Oh yeah, right, sure." JJ said as the two headed up the stairs. "Come in here, and I'll get you something to wear." JJ said opening her bedroom door and heading in. Emily followed her in, but stood awkwardly near the door. JJ became suddenly aware of the fact that Emily was in her bedroom: the room so few people besides herself had ever seen. It was her private space. She had once vowed never to let any of the profilers see her room, because she felt like it would somehow reveal the most intimate things about her to them, and she didn't want that. None the less, here she was with Emily standing in her room, and what's more, she'd invited her in. She was letting Emily in, and JJ felt suddenly nervous about it. She was making herself vulnerable, putting herself out there. She tried to ignore the butterflies that emerged in her stomach. "A baggy T-shirt and some boxers ok?" JJ asked, trying to hide the shakiness in her voice.

"Yeah, that's fine." Emily replied.

JJ rummaged through her drawers and found an oversized T-shirt and some sleeping shorts and crossed back to where Emily was standing. Emily took the clothes, but didn't move. JJ looked up into the taller woman's eyes. She felt like she could melt in those brown eyes. She became acutely aware of the closeness between them. Emily leaned closer, and JJ couldn't resist. She closed the gap between them, taking Emily's lips in hers and wrapping her arms around the brunette. Emily responded eagerly, dropping the clothes and grabbing JJ. Their kiss deepened as JJ let her tongue explore Emily's mouth. Emily leaned in closer, and JJ was forced to take a step back, though she didn't break the kiss. Emily stepped forward to hold JJ closer, but wobbled a little from the alcohol, forcing JJ back further. JJ felt her bed hit the back of her legs. Her blood was pumping rapidly now and she was extremely turned on. Her hormones wanted her to just throw Emily down on the bed right then, but her logical brain was trying to fight for control. She didn't want to sleep with Emily yet. It was too soon. It was rushing things. She turned her face, forcing them to break the kiss. Emily took a step backwards.

"I'm sorry. I….sorry." She said, leaning down to pick the clothes JJ had gotten her off the floor.

"It's fine." JJ said. "Ok I'm just gonna go to the bathroom and put some pajamas on. You can change in here if you want. I'll be back in a minute." She grabbed some pajamas out of a drawer.

"Maybe I should just go to the guest room." Emily said, looking self conscious.

"No it's fine. I want to talk to you for a bit before we go to sleep. If that's ok." _Just talk._ JJ told herself. _Control yourself Jayj._ She headed to the bathroom.

Emily stood in JJ's room, feeling awkward. She felt like an intruder on a private world. She refrained from looking around too much. She didn't want to unintentionally profile JJ's room. She couldn't help being slightly thrilled at the fact that she was standing there, changing in JJ's bedroom. JJ could walk back in any second. Emily was having a hard time thinking with her head tonight. It seemed to be her sex drive that was running the show. She'd have to try harder to refrain from kissing JJ again. This close to a bed a kiss could lead to them taking steps they weren't ready for. Emily finished changing and took a seat on the end of JJ's bed. She only waited a few minutes before JJ knocked on the door.

"Are you decent?" Emily heard JJ call out.

"Yeah, it's fine." Emily replied. The door opened to reveal JJ in a cute purple top and matching purple sleeping shorts. Her toned legs looked gorgeous and Emily unconsciously licked her lips as she looked JJ up and down. JJ crossed to the bed and sat down cross-legged next to Emily. Emily felt her heart rate increase. She couldn't help it. JJ turned her on insanely.

"So…" JJ started. "What'd you think of the restaurant?"

"It was cute. That Alessandro's a character. I see why you like going there." Emily replied, trying to focus on her words, rather than the vision of JJ's chest rising and falling as she breathed. Emily could tell that JJ wasn't wearing a bra, and she could make out hard nipples beneath the thin shirt. She was finding them extremely distracting, not to mention arousing.

"Yeah. It's a great place, and you're right. Alessandro is quite a character. He's been really good to me though." Emily was focusing on JJ's lips to try to pay attention on what they were saying. They looked so inviting. Emily was really struggling to resist the urge to kiss JJ. She looked up into JJ's eyes and she melted.

"Jayj…" Emily's voice caught in her throat. JJ gazed back at her, both caring and lust filling her eyes. Before Emily knew what was happening, JJ's lips were on her own. Emily, without breaking the passionate embrace, moved herself so that she was straddling JJ's lap. She knew her own nipples were becoming erect under the baggy T-shirt she was wearing and she felt them brush against JJ's chest. The sensation sent chills through her body.

JJ leaned backwards, laying down on the bed and pulling Emily down on top of her. Emily was so aroused. The sexual energy between them was overwhelming. She wanted to get lost in it, but she knew that she needed to show some self restraint.

JJ moaned beneath her. She felt JJ's hand slip under her shirt and slide up her back. She shivered involuntarily, and deepened the kiss between them. Their tongues were caressing each other, making heat run through Emily's veins. She slid her hand up JJ's leg and on up under her shirt. She stopped her hand before it reached JJ's breast, though she yearned to feel the soft skin and the erect nipple she knew lay just above her fingers. Instead she caressed the silky skin of JJ's stomach. It was smooth and flat and soft and she felt JJ's breathing grow more ragged as her fingers grew teasingly close to JJ's breast. JJ's fingernails scraped lightly down Emily's back as she wriggled in ecstasy beneath the brunette. Emily, delighted in how turned on she was making JJ brushed the underside of JJ's breast. JJ moaned into her mouth as she gently bit on Emily's lower lip. This, in turn, elicited a small moan from Emily. _God, JJ is so sexy!_ Emily felt herself losing control. She wanted to touch every inch of JJ. If she was going to stop, she needed to now or she wasn't going to. She pulled back her hand and rolled off of JJ. She lay next to the blonde, panting heavily. She turned to look at JJ. JJ was gazing back at her, breathing heavily, but Emily couldn't quite read the expression on her face.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go that far." Emily apologized.

JJ's hand came out and caressed her cheek. "Don't apologize. I wanted it. I want you. I just…I'm glad we stopped. It feels like I'm ridiculously far away from you now though."

Emily smiled. She knew what JJ meant. Her body was aching to feel the blonde's. Her arms longed to hold JJ close. "Maybe…no, nevermind."

"No, what?" JJ asked, taking Emily's hand.

"It's a bad idea. I don't know that I trust myself. And it's probably too soon."

"What? Come on! Just tell me, Em!"

Emily sighed. It probably was a bad idea, but she didn't think JJ would just let her drop it now she'd brought it up.

"I was just wondering…but if you think it's too soon that's fine…but I was thinking it'd be nice…if maybe I slept in here. I don't wanna leave you. I promise not to take advantage of you in your sleep." Emily winked, trying to lighten the mood to cover her embarrassment.

"Oh yeah? And who says I won't take advantage of you?" JJ grinned. Her hand left Emily's and grazed up her arm and down, lightly over her right breast and came to rest on Emily's stomach. This action ran electric chills through Emily's body. She moaned lightly.

"You're right. It is too soon, but I don't want to not touch you tonight. Come here." JJ said, scooting up in bed and pulling the covers over her.

Emily didn't need to be told twice. As JJ flipped the light switch off, Emily crawled under the covers. She pulled JJ in close, and kissed her softly on the lips. JJ began to kiss back then pulled away.

"If we start that again, I don't know that I'll be able to stop, and I'm still not ready Em."

"I'm not either." Emily admitted. JJ snuggled into Emily and laid her head on Emily's chest. Emily pulled her closer, wrapping her arms around the blonde. She could lie like this forever. She breathed in heavily, taking in JJ's scent. It soothed her, relaxed her, aroused her. She swallowed hard, taking control of herself. She felt JJ's body relax and knew that her girlfriend was drifting off to sleep. _Girlfriend._ Emily sounded so right. "I love you JJ." She whispered, then froze. It just slipped out. She meant it, but she hadn't even realized it til that moment. It was definitely too early to say it. The only thing that greeted her was JJ's deep breathing. She must already have been asleep. _Thank God!_ Emily thought to herself. _Ok, you need to not say that again soon. She definitely doesn't feel that way about you yet! How can you even feel it yet? You've been on two dates!...and known her for a couple of years_. She reminded herself. She decided not to think about it right now. Instead she relaxed back into relishing the feeling of having JJ in her arms. She drifted off to sleep breathing in the sweet scent of JJ's hair.


	32. Chapter 32

JJ awoke with a start, and quickly realized there was someone in her bed with her. She saw Emily laying peacefully, brown hair lying lazily across her face. JJ relaxed the moment she recognized who it was. Emily looked so beautiful laying there, her head nuzzling against JJ. It felt so right. She kissed Emily softly on the top of her head, breathing in the floral scent of her shampoo. It smelled so good and filled JJ with a warm tingly feeling.

"I love you." She whispered into Emily's hair before she could stop herself. She froze. Why had she said that? Was it true? Even if it was why had she said that? It was way too soon! They'd only had two dates! At least Emily was asleep. She hadn't heard her. _I'll have to watch myself in the future! How could I be so stupid? What if she'd heard? What if she'd woken up? There's no way she feels that way about you yet! You shouldn't even feel that way about her yet!_ JJ scolded herself while trying not to move so she wouldn't wake up Emily.

JJ was just drifting back to sleep when her phone rang. She lunged for it, hoping to answer before the ringing woke up Emily.

"Agent Jareau." She said as quietly as possible.

"JJ? Are you ok?" Hotch's voice asked.

"Oh, Hotch, yeah…What's up?" She whispered.

"We have a case. Male police officer in Warrenton, Virginia found scalped. Third victim overall." He replied in a sad voice. "Sorry to interrupt your weekend."

"Ok. I'll be in as soon as possible." JJ replied, forgetting the need to be quiet. Emily stirred slightly.

"Thanks. I'll see you soon. And please bring Emily with you." Hotch said hanging up.

JJ blushed. "Right…" She said, closing her phone and blushing. "Em…" She said quietly. She reached down and gently shook Emily's shoulder. "Em…babe….we gotta get up." Emily stirred again, then she rolled over and smiled. Emily's smile made JJ's breath catch in her throat. She was so gorgeous. She hated to have to give her bad news and make that smile disappear.

"Em…Hotch called. We have to go to work." JJ said patiently as Emily appeared to be drifting back to sleep.

Emily sat upright at the mention of Hotch's name. "Oh God. Did he…Does he…"

"Yeah. He told me to bring you. So I'm guessing yes. Oh God, Em! I'm not sure I can look at him now! And he probably thinks…" JJ put her head in her hands. Hotch probably thought they'd slept together. She sighed heavily.

"Ok…let's just try not to think about it." Emily said. "What's the case?"

"I don't really want to think about that either. Police officer's dead. Scalped. Third victim apparently. We'll be driving down to Warrenton today. Come on, let's get dressed."

"Jayj, I don't have clothes here. And Morgan will definitely notice if I wear the same clothes to work today that I had on last night."

JJ knew Emily had a point. She stood up and crossed to her closet. She pulled out a white T-shirt. "Here. Try this." She said handing it to Emily. Emily took it and looked around for the pile of clothes she'd taken off last night. She grabbed her bra and pants from the night before and headed for the bathroom.

JJ sighed the second Emily left the room. When it was just the two of them it was as if they were in their own world, as if nothing else existed. Then her phone had rung and pulled her back to reality. Reality was more complicated than normal these days. In reality, she, Special Agent Jennifer Jareau, star college soccer player, was dating a woman, not to mention a fellow FBI officer. She had always assumed she'd never date a woman and she'd always vowed to never date anyone from work. Here she was breaking both rules at once, and it felt so right. In the real world, on a case…It might not feel so right, or it might just not be as easy to deal with. And now her boss probably thought she'd slept with her female colleague. _Well you did, you just didn't have sex with her._ JJ reminded herself of the distinction. Emily appeared in the doorway wearing JJ's shirt.

"Wow." JJ said before she could stop herself.

"What?" Emily inquired.

"Nothing…You just…You just look hot wearing my clothes, that's all." JJ blurted out, then blushed. Emily smiled at her.

"Yeah, well it feels nice wearing your clothes. Like I'm somehow closer to you." JJ saw Emily's cheeks turn red.

"You have a bag at work, right?" JJ asked.

"Yeah. Always. And from what you said, I don't have time to go home, so I guess I'd better wear the pants from last night and pray Morgan doesn't notice. It really is a shame sometimes that we happen to work with the only observant males on the planet." Emily said, rolling her eyes.

JJ laughed. "How true." She said ruefully. "Any other guys wouldn't remember what pants you had on last night." The two of them stood there for a minute, just looking at each other. "So…" JJ finally said. "I need to get dressed…"

Emily became flustered. "Oh…right…of course! Ok…I'm gonna go downstairs and make some coffee. See you down there." She said, backing out the door.

JJ smiled at the response she had elicited in Emily. She knew it was because as soon as she'd mentioned getting dressed Emily's mind had wondered to the fact that JJ had to undress first. Her smile vanished when she remembered why it was she needed to get dressed and go to work right now. They had a long day ahead of them.


	33. Chapter 33

"Are those the same pants you were wearing yesterday?" Morgan asked as JJ and Emily walked into the bullpen.

Emily rolled her eyes and ignored the question, heading to her desk and grabbing the bag she had stowed there.

Morgan turned to JJ. "Those are the same pants she was wearing last night. Aren't they." It was more a statement than a question.

"I dunno Morgan." JJ said shrugging and pretending to look apologetic.

"So did you not go home last night?" Morgan turned his attention back to Emily. "But…You left the bar with JJ. So did you drop JJ off then go to his house?...But why did you two arrive together this morning?"

"I believe there are more important issues at hand, Morgan." Hotch said walking up to the group in his calm but focused manner.

_Thank God for Hotch! And thank God that even though Morgan's one of the most brilliant profiler's I know, he's still being very dense at the moment!_ Emily thought to herself.

"Sorry Hotch." Morgan said, looking slightly ashamed at being caught.

JJ and Emily exchanged a look that spoke volumes. They were both thankful for Hotch's intervention, but they were both painfully aware that Morgan was one puzzle piece away from figuring them out.

"Conference room. Now." Hotch said upon seeing Rossi and Reid show up, and headed that way.

Emily fell into step beside JJ. They exchanged another look and Emily sighed. She could feel her heart beating strongly, pounding really. She felt as if she and JJ had achieved a new level of closeness, of intimacy; and she was extremely nervous that everyone else would plainly be able to see it. Now that they were here, in the office, in the real world, it seemed that the small bubble they'd created the night before in the safety of Alessandro's restaurant and JJ's house wasn't so safe and protected. She shook her head. She needed to focus on work now. Hotch handed out the files.

"Officer James Edwards, 26, found in an alley last night, scalped and castrated. School teacher Alec Browning, 23, found two weeks ago behind the school, scalped and castrated. Construction worker Ezekiel Smith, 24, found a month and a half ago near a local gay bar, scalped and castrated." Hotch said spreading out the pictures of the victims.

The team shuddered in unison when Hotch placed crime scene pictures on the table. The images were truly gruesome.

"The crimes are obviously somehow sexually motivated with the castration element." Reid stated matter-of-factly.

"Is the location of the body of the first victim in proximity to the gay bar relevant? Is there any evidence of him being at the bar that night? Or frequenting it? Did the unsub dump the body there randomly or to send a message? If for a message, why no apparent message with the other bodies?" Morgan voiced questions that the others were already contemplating.

"The bartender confirmed that Ezekiel had been there the night he disappeared and was a regular customer." Hotch confirmed.

JJ and Emily exchanged a nervous glance.

"Was the police officer found in an alley in territory that he normally patrols?" Emily asked.

"Yes." Hotch confirmed again.

"So they were all found in areas they frequented. Is there any indication that the other two men might be homosexual?" Rossi asked.

Emily swallowed nervously. The word somehow resounded in her ears. She strained to listen to Hotch's response as the word bounced around in her head.

"Not that I'm aware of." Hotch replied.

"Neither teaching nor police work are necessarily easy jobs to go into if you're homosexual. Police departments are often viewed as extremely heterosexual boy's clubs and the number of male teachers accused of potentially harassing young students just because of their sexual preference make neither field especially welcoming." Morgan said.

"Yeah, cause construction is such a liberal, open-minded, welcoming field to go into if you're gay." Emily retorted sarcastically.

Morgan gave her a strange look and Emily realized her voice had been sharper than she'd meant it. She gave him a slightly apologetic look.

"Is any field really easy to be out in? Even as progressive as America thinks it is?" Rossi said pointedly.

"Artistic communities are typically more open-minded and receive homosexuals better." Reid stated.

"Reid I'm sure not every gay person has artistic talent and it was a rhetorical question, man!" Morgan responded.

"I'm not sure this discussion is still relevant to the case. Now if Officer Edwards was gay, keep in mind he was still a police officer. Doing victimology on him may be hard. We all know local police forces don't like to feel like they're the ones being investigated." Hotch got them back on track.

The team nodded in acknowledgement of this fact. Emily glanced at JJ who was looking down at her clenched fists but it didn't seem like she was really seeing them. Emily wanted so badly to reach out and comfort her in some way, but knew she couldn't.

"Ok, we'll drive down in pairs. Morgan go with Rossi, JJ go with Emily, and Reid you're with me. We'll meet at the precinct that victim three belonged to. JJ I need you to make sure we present an approachable front. Anything you can do to put the local officers at ease would be much appreciated. Work your magic." Hotch said, acknowledging JJ's position as liaison to local police departments and her uncanny ability to put people at ease.

JJ looked slightly surprised at hearing her name, but she nodded. The team collectively stood up, filed out of the room, grabbed their bags, and headed for the departmental SUVs. Emily noticed JJ looking vaguely lost.

"Jayj, you're with me." She said softly.

The blonde looked slightly surprised, obviously misinterpreting Emily's meaning. Emily nodded towards the SUV.

"Oh, right." JJ said, realization dawning.

Once in the relative safety of the vehicle, Emily put a comforting hand on JJ's arm. She felt the blonde tense.

"Jayj…" She said, concerned about the shell-shocked behavior of her friend.

JJ looked at her. "Sorry. I just…They're all gay aren't they." JJ asked in a small voice.

"It's a possibility." Emily replied noncommittally. She knew what JJ was getting at though. This was the real world. A world in which people would kill you for your choice in sexual partner. A world that suddenly seemed more threatening to the two women than it ever had before. Emily sighed and started the car.

"It'll be ok. We'll catch the guy and it'll be ok." She said, trying to convince herself as much as JJ. The truth was, if they were out as a couple, out as bisexuals or lesbians or whatever they were, it would be complicated and it might not be ok. They drove in silence, both stressed by unspoken thoughts and harsh realities.


	34. Chapter 34

JJ lay on her bed at the hotel staring at the ceiling. Thoughts were whirring through her head. Dizzying thoughts. Nauseating thoughts.

All three victims were gay. They'd confirmed it earlier, although it'd taken quite a bit of energy to extract that information from the police officer's partner.

JJ sighed. Officer Edwards had come out to only a handful of people, but had been seriously dating a guy for two years and had just moved in with him. The school teacher had only come out to one person, but had just visited his first gay bar two weeks before he turned up dead. Only the construction worker had been openly gay.

So what about her and Emily? What were they? Were they bi? Were they lesbians? Why did they have to have a label? Why did who she slept with or wanted to sleep with matter? _It shouldn't,_ she decided. None the less it had become more and more apparent that sexual preference was at least partially a reason these men were killed.

JJ heard a knock on the door. She got up to answer it, hoping it was Emily.

"How're you doing?" Hotch asked standing in the doorway.

"I'm fine." JJ said, deflating a little at seeing it wasn't Emily.

"JJ if you were fine I wouldn't have felt the need to stop by and check on you. Do you want to talk about anything?"

"No." JJ replied resignedly.

Hotch studied her for a moment, making her squirm uncomfortably. He looked as if he was considering saying something then changed his mind.

"Have a good night, JJ." He said.

"Goodnight Hotch." She said, about to close the door behind him when she heard Emily's voice.

"Goodnight Hotch."

JJ's breath caught in her throat. She watched Emily approach her and smile.

"Can I come in?" Emily asked.

JJ looked at Hotch's retreating figure and stepped aside to let Emily in.

"Water?" Emily offered the bottle she'd obviously gotten from one of the hotel vending machines.

"Don't suppose you've got vodka instead?" JJ said forcing a smile that quickly faded.

"Sorry." Emily said softly, taking a seat on JJ's bed.

JJ, who had been hovering by the door, crossed to the bed and sat down next to Emily. They sat in silence, both staring off into space, neither looking at the other. JJ felt Emily take her hand and she breathed out a breath that she hadn't even been aware she was holding. She leaned into Emily, resting her head on the brunette's shoulder. She felt the tension of the day flow out of her body just at their contact.

Another knock on the door broke their comfortable silence. JJ jumped at the sound and went to the door. She opened it to reveal Morgan standing there.

"Hey Jayj. You doing ok? It seemed like you were having a rough day." He said looking up at her. Surprise played on his face as he looked past her and he noticed Emily who was still sitting on the end of JJ's bed. "Hey…" he said vaguely, nodding at Emily.

JJ could almost see the wheels turning in his head.

"I'm doing ok, thanks for checking on me." JJ said, trying to break the train of thought she was sure Morgan had begun.

"Yeah I see that…" He muttered in a distant voice.

"What?" She asked in a bold voice.

Morgan shook his head, refocused, and grinned at JJ. "Nothing," he replied with a smirk. JJ groaned. He'd figured it out. She could tell.

"Shit." She muttered under her breath. _Just what I need…someone else knowing._ Emily had gotten off the bed and was now standing behind JJ. JJ could feel her presence as clearly as if the brunette had been touching her. She groaned and turned, glancing at Emily then walking around her and sitting down on the bed, putting her head in her hands. Emily and Morgan both watched her. An awkward silence descended upon the threesome, none of them quite knowing how to broach the subject at hand. JJ's head was spinning. She wanted to lie down and sleep or cry or something. Finally she couldn't take the silence anymore. "Morgan just say something and get it over with." She said looking up at him.

Morgan looked taken aback at the bitterness in JJ's voice. Even Emily looked somewhat disconcerted. Morgan opened and closed his mouth a few times, before meekly asking, "How long?"

"About a week." Emily answered, crossing back to the bed and taking a seat by JJ. Morgan glanced into the hallway then back into the room as if deciding the wiser course of action. He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, then pulled one of the chairs in the room over so that he was seated facing the two women on the bed.

"You could have told me." He said softly with a gentle smile.

JJ looked up into his face, scrutinizing it for any signs of a negative reaction. She found none. She looked back down. "We're not exactly telling people. I don't even know what to tell people." JJ said in frustration. She felt like she was nearing her breaking point. All of the stress that had drained away with Emily just minutes before was now back with a vengeance. JJ felt like she was losing control of the situation. People were finding out about her and Emily. The more people who knew, the more danger they'd be in. This case proved it.

"Yeah, but JJ, come on…I mean I'm not just anyone. I like to think I'm your friend, not just your colleague." Morgan persisted. For a brilliant profiler he seemed to be completely missing JJ's stress, completely missing her need to just be left alone…or at least alone with Emily.

"Morgan we are friends, but we're still working through this ourselves. We would have told you eventually." Emily said.

"I get it. It's new. You don't want the world to know. I'm guessing you don't want the Bureau to know either really. I get it." He said.

JJ knew he was trying to be understanding and supportive, but he didn't get it. He just didn't. He couldn't. He couldn't understand what it was like to feel everything you thought was true crumble out from beneath you. He couldn't understand how this case was affecting her because it couldn't affect him in the same way. He was straight. Definitively straight. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Derek Morgan was as straight as they came. He would never have to face the possibility of someone not respecting him just because of who he chose to sleep with. He would never have to deal with the possibility that someone would wish him dead just because of the gender of the person he loved. JJ stood up and walked away, facing the wall and fighting back tears. She felt alone and she just wanted to talk to Emily, to hold Emily, to have Emily tell her that everything was going to be ok, because as silly as it sounded, she believed it when Emily said it.

"JJ, I understand." Morgan tried again to show his support.

JJ turned, tears streaming down her face as she no longer had the energy to hold them back. "You don't. You can't. It's so new and it's so real and it's so scary. You can't understand what that's like. I love her, and there are obviously people out there who would kill me because of that. This case proves that! You don't have to deal with that!"

Morgan walked to her and enveloped her in his strong arms. "There are people who would kill me for dating a white woman, and I'm not saying it's the same thing. You're right, I can't imagine what you're going through right now, but I'm here for you, and I promise you that I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you or Emily ever for any reason. You got it?" He said kissing the top of her head. JJ's heart warmed at his words. He was a good man. She couldn't deny it. He was right, too. As advanced as America appeared to be, racism was still alive and well. She'd seen it. They all had.

"I'm sorry." She said.

"For what?" He asked sounding genuinely confused.

"For not telling you. For forgetting that you face obstacles too just because of the color of your skin." JJ said, her voice cracking and barely audible.

"There's no need to apologize." Morgan replied giving her a squeeze. "Well, unless Garcia knew before me. Does Garcia know? She does doesn't she!"

JJ smiled, and wiped away her tears. "Sorry," she replied with a shrug.

"Dammit." Morgan said pulling slowly away from JJ. "You know just once I'd like to find something out before her. I'm the profiler, but she has all the inside information!" Morgan's attempt to lighten the mood seemed to be doing the trick, as JJ smiled again. He grinned back at her. "I love you two. I mean it. Nobody's going to hurt you. I've got your backs." He said, giving JJ a kiss on her forehead then going to Emily and repeating the action. "Have a good night. And be good to each other. I don't know who I'd side with if one of you hurt the other." He smiled, then left the room.

"Goodnight." JJ said as Morgan closed the door. She turned to find Emily sitting on the bed with her mouth gaping open. She went and sat by her, wiping away the remaining tears that had trickled down her cheeks. "You ok?" She asked, concerned by her girlfriend's lack of talking.

Emily turned to her, mouth still open as if in shock. She looked into JJ's eyes then leaned in and kissed her sensuously on the mouth. JJ smiled. A cry and a kiss seemed to be exactly what she had needed. She felt so much more relaxed now. She was relieved to see Emily smile back at her.

"So you love me, huh?" She said slyly.

JJ froze. _Did I really say that? Oh crap, oh crap. I did. I told Morgan I loved her. Shit! Just when I think I might be able to relax something else happened! And I have no one to blame but myself for this one! Shit!!_ Before JJ could wriggle away in embarrassment, Emily wrapped her arms around JJ's waist and kissed her softly. "Well?" She asked.

JJ swallowed hard. It felt like her head was spinning again. It didn't seem that there was any way to avoid the question and anything but an honest answer would have been hurtful, and she didn't want to hurt Emily. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she felt herself nod.

Emily kissed her again. "Good." Emily said, pulling JJ in even closer. "That makes me not feel so crazy for loving you too. I was worried it was too soon, but now…" Emily concluded her sentence with a soft, sensual kiss.

Upon hearing Emily's words, JJ's world melted. She was sure she'd misheard. "What?" JJ whispered, stunned.

"I love you Jennifer Jareau." Emily said, her piercing brown eyes looking directly into JJ's. JJ almost started crying again, but these tears would have been tears of joy. Emily loved her. The woman she loved, loved her back. It didn't matter that it was too soon, that they'd only been dating for a week, that they'd only been on two dates, because she knew, as soon as Emily said it, that it was true. They'd known each other for several years, it was only natural that out of their friendship the intense emotion came more quickly. Or so JJ attempted to reason with herself before giving up on reason and giving in to Emily. Her body melted into the brunettes and their lips met again, this time more passionately. They leaned back in the bed, lying down together, hands seeming to suddenly get a mind of their own. JJ felt Emily's hands tug at her shirt, and she gave in, while simultaneously sliding her hands up Emily's smooth, flat stomach, pulling Emily's shirt up as she went. Their lips broke apart briefly as Emily fiddled with the buttons of JJ's blouse. JJ took the opportunity to pull Emily's shirt over her head. Their lips met again, clashing in passion, tongues exploring each other's mouths with a necessity JJ hadn't felt before. She felt her shirt slide off of her shoulders. Their lips broke apart again as they lay there regarding each other. Both were just in a bra. JJ marveled at how beautiful Emily looked. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips swollen and pink, her chest and stomach smooth and porcelain. Hints of perfect breasts peaked out of a white bra. JJ noted that Emily's eyes were taking in all of her. Instead of the self consciousness she'd expected to feel, she felt a burning desire. Emily scooted up the bed and JJ followed, then pressed her lips back against the brunette's while simultaneously rolling so that her body was lying on top of Emily's. She felt her stomach press against Emily's smooth skin and felt a tingle run down her spine. She deepened the kiss. Her right hand ran up Emily's stomach and she tentatively slid her fingers under Emily's bra, feeling for the first time the soft skin of Emily's bare breast. She rolled her thumb over Emily's bare nipple. She felt heat rush to her core as Emily shivered beneath her. She pulled her hand out from under the bra and grazed her nails lightly down Emily's abdomen until she reached the button of Emily's pants. This elicited a moan and another shiver from the brunette.

"Jayj…" Emily uttered into JJ's mouth, more a moan than a word.

JJ broke the kiss and looked down lovingly at the brunette. She pulled her hand up and brushed some hair out of Emily's face. "You are so beautiful." She said.

"I was just thinking the same thing about you." Emily replied with a smile.

JJ knew that despite the passion in their exchange, she wasn't ready for what would happen if she didn't stop now. Her body was aching for it, but it had been an emotionally trying day. Right now she needed to make the smart choice for her sanity, and at the moment that was not having sex with Emily. JJ rolled off of her girlfriend, but kept their bodies close enough to be touching. Emily tucked a stray strand of hair behind JJ's ear.

"Sleep here tonight." JJ said.

"You don't need to tell me twice." Emily replied. "I do need my bag this time, though." She made to get up, but JJ wasn't ready to not be touching her yet, so she wrapped her arms around the brunette and held on tight. Emily smiled, then her face grew serious. "We're going to need to talk about things. We're going to have to deal with this case in a healthy way. We've got things we need to work out."

JJ sighed. "I know. But for tonight, can we just lay here and hold each other?"

Emily kissed her lightly on the lips. "Of course. Everything's going to be ok, you know."

JJ smiled. Now that Emily had said it, it felt like everything might just be ok. She nodded.

"Good. Now I really do need my bag. I'll be right back." Emily detangled herself from JJ, who immediately felt empty at the absence of her girlfriend.

"Ok, but hurry back." She said, a pretend pout forming on her lips.

"Don't worry, cutie. I promise." Emily said, pulling her shirt on and heading for the door.

"Em?" JJ said, stopping the brunette in her tracks.

"Yeah?" She said turning to JJ with loving eyes.

JJ swallowed hard, gathering courage. "I love you too Emily Prentiss." She said. Emily smiled a broad, beautiful smile that made JJ's heart sore. She'd put herself out there. She'd made herself vulnerable, and for the moment, it felt incredible, because Emily Prentiss, she knew, loved her back.


	35. Chapter 35

It had been two days of very little progress, which always frustrated Emily. They had spent endless hours trying to draw connections between the victims. They needed a clue, just a hint at where the unsub might be encountering his victims. They were trying to figure out how, why, and where he was choosing his victims. So far they were drawing blanks. There seemed no commonality between the victims besides their sexual orientation and the manner in which they died. Emily felt like the only thing keeping her from imploding from frustration was being able to curl up in JJ's arms at night. She glanced across the room at the blonde who was involved in looking at a file with Hotch and the local sheriff. _God, she looks gorgeous! _She couldn't help but think.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Morgan becoming agitated. She knew that he too was frustrated by their lack of progress. he seemed involved in a heated conversation with one of the local deputies. Emily tuned into their conversation as the deputy raised his voice.

"I'm telling you they fucking deserved it, those fags. I don't care that Edwards was a cop! We shouldn't allow people like that in the department as far as I'm concerned. Those guys were asking for it by being in the fields they chose. They should have known better!" He spat vehemently.

His words cut through Emily like he'd been talking about her. They chilled her to the bone. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine and she glanced back at JJ who looked as if she'd just been slapped in the face. Hotch has also turned his attention to the outspoken deputy.

"They have every right to do whatever job they want. They're people same as you and me. People who deserve respect and love and a career they enjoy!" Morgan practically growled at him.

Hotch and Rossi simultaneously approached the arguing pair. Rossi put a restraining hand on Morgan's shoulder, as he looked like he was about to tackle the deputy. Hotch angled himself so he stood somewhat in between Morgan and the sneering deputy.

"Don't tell me you're a fag lover. Are you queer, pretty boy? Do they let queers in the FBI?" The deputy was saying, his voice dripping with animosity.

Rossi gripped Morgan harder as he struggled towards the man. Emily completely understood his anger. She couldn't believe she was hearing such ignorance, such hatred spoken aloud. She felt her blood boil. Hotch moved further in between Morgan and the deputy. The sheriff had also approached and put a firm hand on his deputy's shoulder. Hotch looked as though he were about to speak, but the sheriff beat him to it.

"That's enough Jerry. That won't help us catch this bastard. It doesn't matter who you are, no one deserves to die like that." An autopsy on Edwards had revealed he'd been alive when the unsub had started to remove his scalp. "It is your duty to uphold the law," the sheriff continued. "And this son-of-a-bitch is breaking the law right under our noses. Killing Edwards was a great loss to the department. Keep in mind how many times he had your back! He was a good cop, no matter who he chose to sleep with."

"It's not a choice." A timid voice spoke out. Emily turned to see JJ who looked surprised to hear her own voice.

The sheriff seemed surprised too. "I beg your pardon, ma'am?" He asked politely.

JJ looked unsettled. She squirmed under the gazes she'd attracted when she'd spoken. It was Hotch who came to her rescue.

"I believe that what Special Agent Jareau was saying is that it's commonly seen as not a choice, merely an innate state of being." Hotch explained.

JJ notably relaxed when the attention turned away from her. She looked up and Emily caught her gaze. Emily smiled at her, trying to reassure her somehow.

The situation between Morgan and the deputy seemed to have diffused, so Morgan came over to where Emily was seated, looking over a list of known associates of all three victims, searching for a common name.

"I can't stand people who are so blind and ignorant! It's people like that, who are so closed minded, that shouldn't be allowed in law enforcement." He muttered. Aggression was still radiating off of him as he slumped down next to Emily. His face turned suddenly tender. "Are you ok? Ignore what that guy was saying. He's an idiot, you know." He said, putting a comforting hand on Emily's.

Emily smiled at him. "I'm fine Morgan. I'm not a fragile doll that's going to break at comments like that." Emily replied, sounding more sure than she felt. The exchange had shaken her.

"It's people like him that remind me that homosexuality was illegal as recently as forty, fifty years ago." Morgan sighed.

"Yeah or that there are people who think that it's a mental disease that needs to be and can be cured." Emily rolled her eyes. Thoughts like these had been rolling around in her head a lot since they'd caught this case. The hatred and closed-mindedness that existed in the world about this subject, the fact that in some places, places she'd lived, it was common practice to stone people to death for being homosexual...Things like that scared her. At home in America gay bashings and prejudice were still far more prevalent than most people wanted to admit. The deputy's outburst had just proved that.

Emily looked back at JJ. It looked like she was having a conversation with Hotch similar to the one that Emily and Morgan were having.

"I've got something!" Reid said, breaking the team out of their thoughts.

The team and the sheriff hurried over to Reid.

"Look here." Reid said pointing. "Two months ago an Emmanuel James working for Crimson Electric installed a new internet system into Ezekiel Smith's home. And here..." Reid said pointing to a name on another sheet of paper. "Two weeks later Emmanuel James was one of five people sent to update the operating systems at Jefferson Elementary school, where Alec Browning worked."

"We just had out software updated, but we didn't hire Crimson Electric." The Sheriff interjected.

"No, you hired Albright Computer solutions, but an Emmanuel James was sent with that company and is signed into the visitor's log three consecutive days." Reid continued excitedly.

"So you're thinking that this Emmanuel James was either fired or quit from Crimson Electric and went to work for Albright Computer Solutions?"

"Exactly." Reid said. "James is a fairly common last name, but the first name, Emmanuel, makes the odds of him being the same guy substantially better. I could give you exact statistics if you'd like, although they'd be nationwide, not localized to Virginia." Reid offered.

"That's ok braniac, we believe you. I'll go call Garcia, ask her to look this guy up." Morgan said.

"That's great. Good spotting, Reid. Emily, why don't you and JJ go talk to Crimson Electric if Garcia confirms that it's the same guy working at both companies. Find out why he left."

Emily nodded then headed over to where Morgan was already involved in a conversation with Garcia. A moment later JJ joined them. Morgan was listening intently to Garcia, scribbling down information from time to time.

"Thanks my Tech Goddess. You're a genius." He said. "Oh, and baby doll? You and I need to have a talk when I get back about you holding back important information from me." Morgan glanced at Emily and JJ. Emily couldn't resist a glare, even though she felt the corners of her mouth forming into a smile.

Morgan grinned at whatever Garcia's response was. "Yeah…they send their love. Bye now."

Morgan shot Emily ad JJ a mischievous look, then turned serious. "Garcia confirms it's the same Emmanuel James at both companies." He informed them.

Emily smiled triumphantly. This was their first solid lead. She and JJ headed for an SUV.


	36. Chapter 36

"They were corrupting me! Those fuckers gave me a look! I could tell! I could just tell they were wrong, they were off, they had demons inside of them! Every one of them was living a life of sin, lusting after other men! It made me sick! Momma always said never let them corrupt you and never let them corrupt other, so they had to go. I let the demons out of their heads then I cut off their offending organs!" Emmanuel James ranted. He had given them a good chase. They'd tracked him through back yards and up a stream through some woods. Finally, Morgan had tackled him. They'd wrestled for a bit before Morgan had gotten the upper hand, though not before Emmanuel had managed to cut Morgan's arm with a hunting knife.

Sick of his lunatic ramblings, Morgan gave him a harsh nudge towards the police car. "Shut up! They weren't evil or corrupt and you didn't need corrupting! They were people! Innocent people, that you mercilessly slaughtered." Morgan shoved Emmanuel's head down into the back of the police car, which left JJ unable to hear his retort. She was glad of that. Emotionally draining didn't even come close to the effect this case had had on her. Emily walked over to her, smiling.

"We got him." She said softly.

JJ smiled back, but she couldn't bring her whole heart to be in the smile. "He's not the only insane bigot out there, though."

"But it's one less." Emily replied. It was simple and true.

They saw the paramedics take Morgan over to the ambulance that had arrived to examine his arm. They headed over to him and were met over there by Hotch.

"How's the arm?" Hotch asked Morgan.

"It's fine…They want to give me a couple of stitches, but…"

"Do it." Hotch cut Morgan off. "I'll meet you at the hospital." Hotch turned his attention to Emily and JJ. "I want you two to take the rest of the week off. If we get another case I'll call you, but this has been an emotionally trying four days for you two more than any of the rest of us. Take some time. Talk. Work some stuff out."

"Hotch…what'll Rossi and Reid think? Won't they wonder why you're giving both of us time off?" Emily asked.

"They'll find out sooner or later, and you two need the time, so take it." Hotch replied.

"Thanks." JJ said.

"You're welcome. Why don't you two head back now. I'll send Reid back with Rossi and then I'll wait and drive home with Morgan. I'll see you both Monday."

JJ walked to the SUV in a semi-daze. It was finally hitting her that the case was finished. Emotions were flooding through her system, she felt like she was on overload. She felt emotionally raw and vulnerable. She looked around at the flashing lights and the people as she got into the SUV, but she couldn't hear the noise. She felt like she was in a fog. All she wanted to do was collapse into her bed, in her house, where she was safe, and cry. She wasn't even sure what she wanted to cry about. She just knew she needed to cry. Emily, who was sitting in driver's seat reached over and took JJ's hand. Suddenly she felt grounded and her head felt clearer. She focused on Emily.

"Can I stay with you tonight?" Emily asked. She sounded quiet and unsure, not like the strong woman JJ knew. It occurred to JJ in that moment that everything that she'd been through in those past four days, Emily had experienced too. She knew that technically that had been true, but it really hit her sitting there looking into those stunning brown eyes. Eyes that reflected fear and love and longing and lust and sadness all at the same time. The emotional rollercoaster that JJ had been on, Emily had been riding right next to her. JJ smiled.

"Of course." JJ replied simply. "I love you Emily."

Emily smiled a brilliant smile. "I love you too." Emily squeezed JJ's hand, then started the ignition and began the long drive home.


	37. Chapter 37

"So what should we do?" Emily was sitting in JJ's living room, talking to JJ who was in the kitchen making drinks.

"Oh…I don't know. I'm sure we'll think of something." JJ said with a mischievous grin and one eyebrow cocked, carrying the drinks over to where Emily sat.

Emily grinned back. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

"No idea!" JJ grinned even wider as she put the drinks down on the coffee table then plopped down on the couch and leaned in to Emily, lightly brushing Emily's lips with her own. She leaned back again. "Do you have any idea how sexy you are?" She asked, her eyes sweeping lustfully over Emily's body.

Emily blushed. "No. But it can't be half as sexy as you are!" Emily pulled JJ to her and kissed her, harder than their last kiss had been.

"You're." Kiss. "Wrong." Kiss. JJ was loving this. It felt so perfect, so comfortable. Emily had gone home the night before and grabbed some clean clothes, then come back to JJ's house and slept there. They hadn't done anything. They had just talked and cried and slept. They had sorted some things out though. As federal agents they had decided it was best to keep their private lives private as much as possible. They'd both agreed that they'd probably try to do that anyway, no matter who they were dating. They came to grips with the fact that Reid and Rossi would probably figure them out in the near future, and they decided they wouldn't deny anything if confronted, but would otherwise continue to behave the same as they always did. They would demand respect like they always had and they felt certain that their team members would show them the respect they deserved.

JJ had cried for what had seemed like hours last night. She had had so many pent up emotions, some happy, some sad, some angry, that she had just needed to cry. Emily had held her tightly and cried some as well. Afterwards they'd felt so exhausted that they'd both fallen into deep sleeps still in each other's arms.

JJ had awoken feeling refreshed. It felt like she was embarking on a new life. Emily had seemed to awake with the same fresh outlook. JJ leaned back into Emily, and sipped her coffee. Emily slid one hand around JJ's waist, pulling her closer, and rested it comfortably on JJ's stomach.

"I love you." Emily said softly into JJ's hair.

JJ smiled. "I love you too…I can't believe I really feel that way. I mean I can, it's just been so long. The last person I said 'I love you' to in a romantic way was back in college."

"Oh yeah? What happened?" Emily asked sounding suddenly very interested.

"It didn't end well. He was my best friend at the time's brother and he cheated on me, but when I broke up with him he told his sister that it was me who'd cheated, so she never spoke to me again. I don't know which hurt worse: being cheated on, or losing my best friend." JJ grew sad at the memory and Emily held her even closer.

"I'm sorry."

JJ tilted her head and looked up into Emily's eyes. "I'm not. I'd say it worked out pretty well for both of us, wouldn't you?"

Emily grinned at her. "Yeah. I definitely would." She kissed JJ lightly on the lips.

"So what about you?" JJ asked becoming curious.

"What about me?"

"When was the last time you told someone you loved them?"

"Besides you just now?" Emily inquired with a grin.

"Yes. Besides me." JJ rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile.

"Hmmm…" Emily considered the question. "I don't know. Probably Jamie. This guy I dated about four or five years ago…there was no messy breakup or anything. We just grew apart. I'm not sure I was ever really in love with him though. I know I said it to him, but even at the time it seemed kind of hollow. Not at all how it is with you."

JJ smiled at Emily's implication. Emily really did love her. It warmed her heart. Love and happiness welled up inside of her. More questions popped into JJ's head. She wanted to know all about Emily. Before, when they'd just been colleagues, they'd never really talked about their personal lives. Not really. Not in depth.

"How old were you when you had your first kiss?" JJ asked.

"Ten." Emily stated simply.

"Ten?? You're kidding! A real kiss at ten??" JJ asked incredulously.

"Well, when I was ten, this little French boy came up and kissed me right on the lips at a park in Paris. But my first real kiss?...hmm…It was at the embassy Christmas part. Charlie Logan." Emily sighed. "He was thirteen and I thought he was the cutest guy I'd ever seen. His dad worked for my mom. What about your first kiss?"

"JJ blushed. "I didn't have my first kiss until I was fourteen. Eric Jones, seven minutes in heaven, at Jessica Legado's party. I was so nervous. I must have had like three boxes of tic tac's in anticipation of that game. I know, I know. I'm such a dork." JJ said when Emily started giggling.

"Nah. I think that's adorable."

They both giggled a little then sat there snuggling in a comfortable silence as they drank their coffee for a few minutes.

"As long as we're talking firsts and lasts and whatnot…what about…" Emily started, but then trailed off.

"What about what?" JJ asked, curious as to what Emily's question would have been.

"Nothing. I was just gonna be nosey, but thought better of it." Emily said and kissed the side of JJ's head.

"No, come on, ask me." JJ was even more curious about what the question was going to be now. She sat up and faced Emily.

"I was just gonna ask what about your first time?"

"Oh." JJ blushed deeply. "Ha. Well…it was when I was young and dumb." She glanced at Emily who was looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue. JJ sighed. She'd never been horribly good at talking about sex, although Garcia's quest for details about any of JJ's dates over the past couple of years had made her a little better about discussing things like this. "I started dating this guy when I was fifteen. He was on the guy's soccer team so we talked sports a lot. Well, anyway, on our one year anniversary, when I was sixteen, we decided we should sleep together. I thought I loved him and that it would be special and bring us closer together, but we were kids. It was awkward as hell. We ended up breaking up two months later." JJ was looking at her hands, still blushing.

"Aw…babe. I'm sorry. Your stories are depressing. Well, the first kiss was cute, but the other two…that sucks." Emily reached out and took one of JJ's hands, squeezing it tight.

"Ha. They're not that bad. So, I've answered…what about you?" JJ asked, turning the tables on Emily.

"Ah, well…I was eighteen and it was another embassy party actually. One of the guys on my mom's security detail was only twenty-two and he was hot. I mean really hot. So I'd flirt with him on and off, and at the party we hooked up and he ended up taking me back to his room, and voila…goodbye virginity." Emily said, blushing slightly herself.

"Oh yeah? How was he?" JJ asked, raising her eyebrow.

"He was pretty good, I gotta say. It was the next two guys who had no skills. But anyway, I'm more interested in the next person I'm gonna sleep with, because I have this feeling that it's going to be absolutely incredible." Emily winked at JJ, who turned beet red.

Emily scooted closer on the couch to JJ and leaned in for a kiss. JJ tentatively took Emily's lips in hers. The light kiss gave her goose bumps and she deepened the kiss. She found herself becoming nervous. She knew exactly where this was going to lead and she wasn't sure she was ready. She pulled back.  
"Let's go bowling." She suggested. She'd said it on impulse, just something to get them out of the house. Something to put them in an environment where they'd be forced to control their hormones.

"Bowling?" Emily looked at her in surprise.

"Yeah. Why not. We have the rest of the week together. Let's go out and do something fun this afternoon." JJ replied.

"I was thinking we might stay in and do something fun." Emily winked at JJ who blushed. "But I haven't been bowling in forever. It sounds fun. Let's finish our drinks and go."

JJ relaxed a little, leaned back and sipped her coffee.


	38. Chapter 38

Emily couldn't help but think how gorgeous JJ was, even standing there in bowling shoes. Emily had quickly remembered why it had been so long since she'd gone bowling. She sucked at it. She'd never enjoyed it more than there with JJ, though. Every time the blonde smiled it was like the room lit up. JJ's bowling skills didn't seem to be especially superior to Emily's so the game was pretty even, and very silly.

"Maybe we should put the bumpers up." JJ joked after sending two gutter balls down the lane.

Emily grinned at her. "But then we couldn't pretend that we're playing golf and trying to get the lowest score possible instead of the highest." Emily winked and JJ laughed.

"Well, in that case, I'm winning!" She said with a smile.

Emily giggled. She knew why JJ had wanted to get out of the house. She was nervous about, well, about sex. Emily was too. She'd never had sex with a girl. What if she did it wrong? What if when it really came down to it she didn't know what to do? What if she couldn't satisfy JJ? All these questions and more had been tumbling around in her head back in the house. That was part of the reason she'd agreed to come bowling. She knew that in order for things to happen between them, they needed to be relaxed, and just let it happen, not try to force it or over-think it.

"Your turn Em! Earth to Emily!" JJ was waving a hand in front of her face.

Emily blinked and shook her head. "Sorry. Guess I tuned out for a second. Just got lost in your beauty I guess." She said with a mischievous grin.

JJ blushed slightly. Emily held out her hand to be helped up from her seat, and JJ helped pull her up. She pulled a little hard, so Emily almost stumbled into her. Emily took the opportunity of their closeness to kiss JJ softly on the cheek. JJ's blush deepened.

Emily picked up the ball and threw it down the lane. Gutter ball. She picked up her second ball and waited for the pins to be set back down by the machine. She felt JJ's eyes watching her and glanced back at her girlfriend. JJ was unconsciously running her tongue over her lips while raking her eyes over Emily's body. Emily grinned. It was nice to know that she could have that effect on JJ. Emily turned back and let go of the ball.

"Strike!" She said excitedly, turning back to JJ and getting a congratulatory high five.

"Nice!" JJ said. "If we're going with golf scoring, I'm definitely winning now. How'd you pull that off?"

"Oh, you know, I aimed for the gutter." Emily grinned. She took a seat as JJ got up to bowl. She found herself doing exactly what she'd caught JJ doing a moment before. JJ's body just curved in all of the right places. Emily couldn't help herself. She started to mentally undress JJ: unbuttoning that cute little white blouse, sliding the sleeves slowly over her shoulders and down her arms til it fell to the floor… Emily's train of thought was interrupted by JJ's second ball that missed their lane entirely and instead bowled a strike in the neighboring lane, much to the surprise of the balding, middle-aged man who had been about to throw his own bowling ball down the lane.

JJ blushed and became flustered. "Sorry. So sorry. I didn't mean to. I'm horrible at this game."

The man smiled at her. "Hey, no worries. You just gave me a strike. If you can harness that power in your own lane, you'll be just fine. Just a tip, try not releasing the ball so high."

JJ smiled nervously. "Ha. Yeah. I'll try that. Sorry again." The man repeated his assurance that it was fine. JJ turned back to Emily, who was laughing hysterically in her seat.

"Nice shot, babe! Wrong lane though." Emily couldn't help herself.

JJ glared and slunk down in the seat next to Emily. "I give up. I officially suck at this game."

"Oh, come on! You got two whole pins on your first ball." Emily put a comforting arm around JJ's shoulders.

"Yep, and ten of his pins with my second ball." JJ said indicating the man she'd just spoken to.

Emily laughed again.

"Oh sure. Laugh away. Just because you at least keep the ball in our lane." JJ said snuggling into Emily's arm ever so slightly.

Emily found herself becoming distracted from her laughter as she breathed in JJ's hair. "Yeah, well…it's just dumb luck that's kept the balls in our lane. I assure you." JJ's arm was against the side of Emily's breast, and Emily felt her nipples harden. "So how about we quit while we're behind and get out of here?" Emily's voice became huskier.

JJ turned her head and looked into Emily's eyes. Their gaze held there for a minute before JJ replied, "Sure. Let's go pay."


	39. Chapter 39

The drive home seemed to take an eternity. JJ couldn't believe how aroused she'd become right there in the bowling alley. Sitting there, gazing into Emily's eyes, it was like time had stopped and the whole world had fallen away. Suddenly she couldn't contain her desire anymore. As soon as they'd gotten the door to JJ's house shut, Emily pinned her against the wall in a deep, passionate embrace. Emily's lips trailed slowly down JJ's neck and across her collarbone, as her fingers worked feverishly at the buttons to JJ's blouse. As soon as the last button was unbuttoned, Emily slid the blouse off JJ's arms to the ground. JJ felt herself getting hotter and hotter. Suddenly she couldn't think of a reason for Emily to still be wearing a shirt. She tugged at the offending garment and somehow managed to get it over Emily's head, whimpering, when Emily's lips were forced to leave her body, and threw the shirt across the room. She recaptured Emily's lips with hers as she stepped forward, forcing Emily back towards the stairs.

"Bedroom." JJ gasped breathlessly between kisses.

The backs of Emily's feet hit the stairs and she fell backwards, pulling JJ down on top of her. JJ took this opportunity to unclasp the button of Emily's pants, and she slowly slid down the zipper as she nipped lightly on Emily's neck. A deep, sensual moan escaped from Emily's mouth as she kicked off her shoes. JJ smiled. _I must be doing something right_. She thought as she slid Emily's pants down over her legs and feet, taking the time to caress Emily's long, silky legs. With JJ off of her, Emily pushed herself up and made her way up a few stairs, reaching back a hand for JJ to take. JJ took it eagerly, any break in contact seeming almost painful. Once at the top of the stairs, Emily pinned JJ against the wall again.

"I don't think it's fair that you're still wearing pants." Emily said in between kisses. Her hands flew to the buttons of JJ's pants as JJ kicked off her heels. Emily tugged JJ's pants down and then JJ stepped out of them. Emily took no time in reclaiming JJ's mouth with her own. She kissed down JJ's neck, down her chest, to the top of her breast. JJ moaned. Emily's tongue dancing over her skin felt amazing. She needed to feel their bodies pressed together. She pushed Emily back, ever so slightly, and grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bedroom. Once in the bedroom Emily spun JJ around and kissed her again. Their kiss deepened as hands began to explore. JJ felt Emily's hands slide up her back, and then she felt her bra unclasp. She allowed the straps to slide off her shoulders and drop to the floor. Emily's hand came around to JJ's front now, and ever so slightly she brushed her fingers over JJ's breast. This sent a shiver up JJ's spine. She wanted to feel Emily's breasts against her own. She followed Emily's example, and soon Emily's bra had joined JJ's on the floor. Emily forced JJ backwards and JJ felt the bed hit the back of her legs. They broke apart as JJ climbed onto the bed, raking her eyes over the brunette's gorgeous body as she did so. Emily, after taking in all of JJ, climbed on top of her. Their bodies pressed together as their lips met again, even more passionately than before. JJ could feel Emily's breasts pushing into her own, her nipples erect. JJ felt herself getting hotter. Suddenly she couldn't stand for any more clothes to be on either of them.

She kissed Emily deeply then flipped her over, laying on top of her. She kissed down Emily's neck and down her chest and froze, hovering just above Emily's perky breast. She took in Emily's porcelain skin and her perfect nipples, just marveling in the fact that she was finally looking at Emily without a shirt on.

"Jayj…you ok with this?" Emily said, her voice full of both lust and concern.

JJ looked up into Emily's big brown eyes and she melted. She smiled wide and nodded. "Oh yeah. I'm ok with this. I'm more than ok with this." With that, she leaned down and sucked Emily's nipple tenderly into her mouth.

Emily moaned as JJ nipped at the nipple gently with her teeth. Then she pulled back again and licked lightly, barely even touching it. Another moan from Emily assured JJ she was doing a good job. She moved her attention to the other nipple as she slid her hand down Emily's flat stomach and down over her lace panties. Wetness greeted her there and she couldn't help but smile. She kissed her way down Emily's stomach and when she hit Emily's panties she tugged ever so slightly with her teeth. She slid her fingers up Emily's legs, making Emily giggle. She couldn't stand it anymore. She had to see Emily naked. She tugged on Emily's panties, pulling them down over her long silky legs, throwing them to the floor. She brushed her fingers ever so gently along Emily's inner thigh and stopped just before reaching the wetness that waited just above. A small moan from Emily encouraged her to repeat the movement, only this time she did it even more slowly and lightly.

"Oh my God, JJ, this is like the most pleasurable torture in the world!" Emily moaned.

JJ looked up at Emily, her eyes twinkling mischievously and grinned. She placed a light kiss on each of Emily's inner thighs and then finally, ever so slowly, placed a soft kiss on Emily's clit. Emily let out a sharp breath. JJ grinned wider. She stuck out her tongue and ran it gently up Emily's slit. She could hear Emily's breathing becoming heavier. She repeated her actions, dragging the motions out, savouring the taste, savoring the feel of Emily's lips on her tongue.

"Oh God…JJ your tongue feels even more amazing than I imagined!" Emily gasped.

Encouraged, JJ increased the pressure as she continued to lick Emily's slit. She then turned her attention to Emily's clit. She began slowly licking circles around it. Emily moaned. JJ couldn't help herself, she nipped lightly at the clit. Emily gasped. JJ continued her ministrations on Emily's clit as her moaning got louder. She slid her right hand up Emily's leg, and then slowly, deliberately slid one finger inside of her. Emily's moans reached a new level as her ecstasy grew.

"Oh God…Oh God! JJ you're amazing! Ooooooh!" She cried out.

JJ began thrusting her finger harder into Emily, curving it up.

"Oh my…right there Jayj…Don't stop!"

JJ decided it was time to add a second finger. As she did so she began to kiss her way up Emily's stomach. She wanted to kiss Emily's lips. She wanted to gaze into those big brown eyes. She wanted to watch as Emily came. She continued thrusting in her fingers as her lips enveloped Emily's right nipple. JJ's left hand came up and pinched Emily's left nipple as she sucked on her right one. Emily let out a deep moan. JJ smiled and kissed her way on up to Emily's mouth. Their lips met passionately as Emily arched into JJ. Emily was writhing in pleasure, and JJ was lost in passion. Just the fact that she was causing Emily so much pleasure was making JJ hot. She could feel Emily's body tensing beneath her. She knew that Emily was getting close. JJ broke the kiss and gazed down lovingly at Emily, taking in every detail of her face that was painted with ecstasy. Emily gazed back into JJ's eyes as she let out a sharp gasp followed by a long, breathy moan, her orgasm flooding over her.

JJ kissed Emily gently as she came down from her natural high. Then she grinned at her girlfriend…_No…not just my girlfriend! My lover!_ Her grin widened. She savored the moment.

"I love you Emily Prentiss!" She whispered into Emily's ear.

"I love you too Jennifer Jareau! I think it's time I return the favor." It was Emily's turn to grin as she flipped JJ over, pinning her on the bed.


	40. Chapter 40

Emily woke up smiling. JJ was cradled in her arms. Emily couldn't remember ever feeling so content in her life, so loved. They had had an amazing night. Making love to JJ had been mind-blowing. She'd never experienced anything like it. She'd had the most intense orgasms of her life. She felt complete laying there with JJ in her arms and JJ in her heart. She kissed JJ's forehead gingerly. JJ stirred. She opened her eyes and Emily was instantly lost in their blueness.

JJ smiled. "Hey." She rasped softly.

"Hey yourself." Emily grinned back at her. She didn't care if she looked goofy. She just felt…well…elated!

JJ gazed into Emily's eyes and bit her lip. It was just too cute. Emily leaned down and kissed her. The kiss started soft, but it grew deeper as Emily felt her body respond to the feel of JJ's soft lips under hers and the memories from the night before flooded back to her. The taste of JJ. The feel of her naked body under her own. Emily was becoming more turned on by the second. She began to kiss down JJ's neck as her hand came up to caress JJ's breasts. JJ moaned beneath her, as Emily kissed down JJ's bare chest and began to run her tongue over the blonde's perfect nipples.

JJ's phone broke the spell of the passion that had taken hold of them. JJ groaned and reached for it. Emily understood. As an FBI agent, you didn't really have the choice of not answering your phone.

"Garcia, I swear to God this better be really fucking important!" JJ said.

Emily grinned wickedly as she moved her lips back to JJ's breast. She flicked JJ's nipple with her tongue and heard JJ squeal.

"Hotch needs us now? Could it maybe be in like an hour or something?" JJ said, her breathing ragged.

Emily frowned. They had to go to work? Crap. She kissed back up JJ's neck, trying to listen to what Garcia was saying on the other end of the phone.

"_Why do you need extra time? Hotch says he's sorry but a new case came up. If you guys don't mind and can handle it he really needs you."_

JJ sighed as Emily ran her fingers over her body. "Yeah…ok…we'll be there soon." JJ gasped as Emily hand reached her core and Emily began to play with JJ's clit.

"_Jayj…are you ok? You seem…Oh shit! You! And then Emily! And! Oh my God this is huge! Ok I want details from both of you later! And umm…sorry about the coitus interruptus. I'll umm…take your time. I'll stall. Love you! Bye!" _

JJ closed her phone and her eyes. Emily could tell that she was in ecstasy.

"You heard?" JJ asked.

"We've gotta go to work?" Emily replied.

"Yep. And Garcia knows we slept together apparently. So that should be a fun conversation later."

"As long as we have a little extra time right now, I don't care." Emily said, capturing JJ's lips in her own as she plunged two fingers into JJ. JJ groaned underneath her.

"Oh God, Em! You know just where to touch me!"

Emily grinned.

"Oh…and don't think there won't be payback for turning me on so much while I was on the phone." JJ said, before letting the passion overtake her.

Emily raised an eyebrow. "I'll count on it." She said seductively. She could only imagine what JJ might conjure up. As torturous as it might be, Emily had no doubt that it would also be extremely pleasurable.

_________

JJ couldn't help the smile on her face as she and Emily walked into the bullpen. She felt so happy. Even being called back to work earlier than she expected couldn't dampen her mood. She was in love. No doubt about it. But for once, she wasn't scared at the prospect. Last night…ok and this morning…had confirmed to JJ that Emily did indeed lover her back. JJ had no idea how they were going to hide their relationship from the rest of the team now. Seeing as Garcia, Morgan, and Hotch already knew, there was a good probability that Rossi had managed to figure it out as well. He was an experienced profiler. He'd see the signs soon if he hadn't already. The only person JJ wasn't completely sure she was ready to let know was Spencer Reid. She'd always thought of him as a little brother and close friend, but she was well aware of the feelings he'd once had for her. She just wasn't quite sure how the genius would react when he found out she was in a serious relationship…and with a girl…with Emily. She looked at the brunette walking beside her and her smile grew.

Emily looked back at her. She raised her eyebrows. "Here goes nothing." She said right before they entered the briefing room.

The rest of the team was already waiting for them. Morgan raised an eyebrow when they walked in together. JJ shot him a warning look, and he grinned. JJ took a seat next to Garcia while Emily sat down next to Morgan.

Hotch cleared his throat. "Sorry to call you two back, but it's one of our own that's the latest victim."

"Who's latest victim?" Emily asked. JJ looked at her to find the brunette staring back at her.

"That's what we need to find out." Rossi said. "You've read about the recent shootings in the area?"

"Sure. Three victims all shot in the head, point blank, no bullet left in the skull, no witnesses. But all of them were criminals. We had a known gang member, a convicted murderer who got paroled, and a career thief. A cop doesn't fit victim profile. Are we sure it's the same killer?" Emily asked.

"Not a cop. An agent. Special Agent Eduardo Martinez. He was working undercover. Trying to take down a human prostitution ring. They created quite an impressive record for him. The rest of the crime fits perfectly, and given who Martinez was associating with and that he was undercover…the unsub may not have known he was an agent." Morgan explained.

"Or someone could have suspected he wasn't who he claimed to be, figured out he was undercover, and killed him, using the other recent shootings to cover it up." Emily countered.

"Either way there is a killer of an FBI agent out there and we need to catch him." Hotch stated firmly.

The team nodded, and they began discussing the details of the shootings and throwing out possibilities.

JJ was trying her best to pay attention and closely follow what her teammates were saying, but she found herself barely able to keep her eyes off of Emily. Despite the dire situation, she couldn't fight of the elation that she felt just by being in the presence of the brunette. Every time Emily spoke, JJ's head shot up and their eyes met. JJ kept having to bite her lip to keep from smiling. She kept reminding herself that four people were dead, one of them a federal agent. Despite the conversation going on around them and their occasional participation, their eyes barely left each other. JJ knew that this was no way to keep it a secret, but she just couldn't help herself.

"Ok, wheels up in half an hour." Hotch dismissed them. JJ and Emily both stood, but Hotch stopped them. He waited for the rest of the team to shuffle out, then spoke quietly to the two. "I do appreciate you coming back to work. How are you two feeling?"

"We're ok Hotch. Thanks." JJ replied. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt Emily's hand slip into her own.

"We do appreciate that you tried to give us time off." Emily added.

"Sorry it couldn't be longer. I know the last case was quite difficult for both of you." Hotch acknowledged.

JJ nodded.

"Is there anything else Hotch?" Emily asked.

"No. I'll meet you at the plane." Hotch said, moving out of their way. "Oh…any special reason you needed an extra hour to get here? Garcia said you were all tied up, but failed to mention why." Hotch gave them a half smile.

JJ blushed.

"We just weren't prepared. I needed to get my bag from my house. And we hadn't quite woken up yet when Garcia called. Sorry for the delay." Emily replied, thinking fast.

JJ knew Hotch knew better. The playful look in his eyes said it all. JJ and Emily left the conference room hand in hand, and Hotch followed after them.

"If you are even remotely concerned with keeping it a secret, you may want to make it less obvious." He said quietly, tapping their clasped hands.

They pulled away. "Right." Emily said.

__________________________

JJ and Emily sat next to each other on the plane, huddled over the case file. Or so it appeared.

"Have fun last night ladies?" Morgan asked, sitting down across from them with a smug grin across his face.

JJ blushed. Emily glared.

"I bet you would like to know huh?" Emily teased.

"Oh, hell yes." Morgan replied without thinking.

JJ raised an eyebrow and Emily tapped her holstered weapon.

"Except that, of course I respect you both too much as women and as colleagues to pry." Morgan covered quickly, not wanting to piss off a woman with a gun.

"Of course." Emily nodded.

JJ giggled. She could really get used to this. The new dynamic wasn't that different from the old team dynamic. The only difference was that now she had the love of her life at her side, rather than just one of her best friends. The teasing, the friendly banter: it was all still there. JJ relaxed in her seat as Morgan and Emily continued to tease each other. Her mind turned to the case. This case was important. It was more than the fact that they were hunting for the killer of a federal agent. This case would prove that they could have a full-fledged, romantic relationship and still do their jobs. JJ sighed and read through the file again. She needed to be prepared.

___________________

Emily pinched the bridge of her nose. It had been a long day. She'd interviewed ten different scumbags trying to get some kind of information out of them, have of whom had had very rude suggestions of things she could do with her mouth besides interrogate them. Worst of all, she felt no closer to finding out who the unsub was, and after a day of talking to his possible future victims, she felt no pity for them.

"Hey sexy." A soft voice said in her ear. She felt warm hands rub across her back.

Emily turned and looked up into JJ's beautiful blue eyes. She smiled. "Hey yourself." Emily replied as JJ took a seat next to her.

"Any luck?" JJ asked.

Emily shook her head. "You?"

"Apparently I have a career as a prostitute if I want it. I got three offers from guys to be my pimps." JJ replied.

Emily laughed. "I got one of those too. Somehow though I think the FBI has better long term benefits."

JJ laughed too. "Yeah. And things like healthcare."

"Morgan found something." Hotch said, approaching the two women.

Emily looked up immediately. "What'd he find?"

"Probable suspect for the Martinez murder. Seems your hunch might have been right, Emily." Hotch replied.

The two women stood and followed their boss to where the rest of the team was congregating.

Hotch nodded to Morgan.

"Ok, so I was going over the evidence again, and something wasn't sitting right. I thought about Emily's suggestion that Martinez's killer was trying to use the other crimes to hide their own, and I realized she had to be right. Look at the clothing on the other three victims." Morgan spread out the crime scene pictures. "See the missed button there?" Morgan pointed. "And on the second victim, look, the victim's pants are buttoned, but the zipper is down. And the third victim, the shirt's on inside out."

"Somebody else dressed them!" Emily exclaimed, realization dawning.

"Exactly what I thought. And look at Martinez. According to his handler that's exactly what he was wearing that morning. All of the buttons are done up properly, his fly is up. He wasn't redressed." Morgan pointed out.

"So somebody figured out he was a cop, and killed him. They just didn't know they needed to redress him to match the other killer exactly." Reid said, excited that they finally had a lead.

"We pulled in some of the people who Martinez reported working closest with. If anyone did it, my guess is it was Caleb Meyers. He seemed far too smug for his own good, like he knew something we didn't. If he didn't do it, then he knows who did. I'm sure of it." Rossi said.

Hotch nodded. "Get him back in here. Reid, did you have any luck talking to possible suspects for the other murders?"

"I interviewed thirteen people who were victims of violent crimes in the few months before the shootings began. So far no luck. It has to be a vigilante though. Maybe someone close to the system? All three victims have a violent offense on their records." Reid replied.

"Keep interviewing tomorrow. For tonight we'll focus on Meyers." Hotch dictated. The team nodded and scattered, more enthusiastic now that they'd had a breakthrough.

Emily felt JJ at her side. "Way to go baby. You were right." JJ whispered in her ear, then she was gone. Off to do her share of the work.

____________

They'd caught both unsubs. Turned out that Rossi had been right about Meyers. After some clever questioning from Hotch and Rossi, he'd messed up. Once he realized his story was blown he'd confessed, though he hadn't apologized. JJ had thought that Morgan might rush into the room and punch the asshole when Meyers had called Martinez "an ignorant fucking cop…stupid fucking illegal immigrant who thought he could outsmart a criminal genius like himself." The brightest spot in that interrogation had been that Meyers had also given them enough information, albeit not intentionally, to make a real dent in the human trafficking organization he was a part of.

Reid and Hotch had been interviewing the husband of a victim of a drive-by-shooting, when something had started nagging at Hotch. Garcia had dug further into the man's background and found out that he'd been hospitalized for violent outbursts in the past, and had a juvenile record of assault. He'd been roughed up by gang members on a regular basis as a kid, and had learned how to retaliate where it hurt. After years of anger management therapy, the death of his wife had set him off, starting his vigilante killing spree.

It had been a long three days and everyone was tired. JJ had barely gotten to spend any time with Emily, despite sharing a hotel room. They'd been so exhausted every night that they'd simply collapsed into bed and fallen straight asleep.

The atmosphere on the plane ride home was light.

"Reid man, I'm telling you. Suarez would have happily taken you home with her if we'd been staying for another day." Morgan teased.

"Yeah, as she would a lost puppy. Not very romantic Morgan." Reid replied.

"Morgan, leave the puppy alone!" Emily called out to him.

Morgan rolled his eyes and approached Emily and JJ, once again sitting across from them. "Does that mean I get to tease you then?"

"I don't remember saying that. Do you remember me saying that?" Emily turned to JJ. JJ just grinned and shook her head.

"I dunno. I'm pretty sure I heard it implied. It sounded something like: 'leave Reid alone because I need to be teased.'" Morgan grinned.

"No. I think I'm good." Emily replied. Emily's hand squeezed JJ's under the table. JJ squeezed back. It was amazing how loved, how happy that simple gesture could make her feel. JJ smiled at Emily.

Morgan leaned across the table and lowered his voice. "You know, you guys are making it pretty obvious that you're together." He whispered.

"Well…I love her. What am I supposed to do?" Emily whispered her reply.

Morgan sat back with a surprised look on his face. He grinned at the two girls. "Seriously?" He nodded. "Yeah. You do, huh?" He smiled genuinely. He leaned forward again and beckoned Emily towards him. "I'm happy for you, Em." He whispered in her ear. He leaned back again. "So any plans for a hot date now that we're headed home, Em?" He said louder, being fully aware of the answer.

JJ leaned back in her seat, leaving Morgan and her girlfriend to their banter. She turned her head and saw Hotch sitting behind them with a half smile on his face. Her ears perked at the words that Rossi was saying to him. "How long has that been going on?"

Hotch turned to the older agent, mild surprise on his face. "How long has what been going on?" He asked innocently.

_Yay Hotch!_ JJ couldn't help but think. _Trying to protect our privacy even from a team of profilers._

"I'm referring to the two young agents seated in front of us. A certain blonde and brunette?" Rossi nodded towards them.

JJ felt her cheeks flush.

Hotch glanced at the women and caught JJ's eye. His eyebrow raised in an unasked question, but JJ knew what he was asking. JJ glanced at Emily. They'd known it was only a matter of time. She nodded at Hotch.

"A few weeks." He replied vaguely.

Rossi nodded. "They go well together."

Hotch smiled. "Yes, they do."

JJ closed her eyes and smiled. She hadn't needed their approval, but it was nice to know that she and Emily had it, especially if the higher ups ever found out. JJ cracked an eye open when she heard the woman next to her laugh. _God she's gorgeous!_ She opened her other eye and swept her glance around the plane. _I've really gotta talk to Spence. He should hear it from me. Everyone else knows, he may as well too. _JJ stifled a yawn. _I'll do it tomorrow._ She thought as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	41. Chapter 41

"Hey Reid! Wait up!" JJ called out to Reid who was headed for his car. She'd been nervous about talking to him all day so she'd kept putting it off, and before she knew it, it was the end of the day and he was leaving. She'd packed her stuff up quick and run after him.

Reid turned in surprise. "Oh. Hey JJ! What's up?" He asked brightly.

JJ suddenly felt even more nervous. _Oh God, I can't tell him! Look at him! He's a puppy! You can't hurt him!_ She winced internally, thinking of what effect her revelation might have on the young man. _It's better that you tell him than that someone else does!_ JJ grit her teeth and forced a smile. "You wanna grab some coffee or something? There's something I want to talk to you about."

"Yeah. Sure." Reid replied.

"Do you mind if we walk?" JJ still wanted more time before she had to tell Reid about her and Em.

"No. That's fine. Where're we going? Lee's?"

"Yeah. If that's alright with you." JJ replied.

"Yeah. Sounds good."

JJ and Reid walked out of the garage together and JJ kept sending Reid nervous glances. She was racking her brain trying to come up with the best way to break the news to him. She didn't think that he still had romantic feelings for her, but they'd become good friends and he might be hurt that she didn't trust him with this sooner. Besides, there was a small chance that he still liked her.

"Why do I feel like I'm about to get dumped?" Reid laughed uncomfortably, breaking the silence that had descended on the two.

"What? No! I…Spence…"

"JJ, I was kidding. You're just so somber and serious. It's like I'm in trouble or something."

"You're not." JJ assured him. She bit her lip nervously as the butterflies in her stomach fluttered.

Reid opened the door to the coffee shop for JJ then followed her in. They ordered and JJ scanned the place for a seat. It wasn't very crowded and JJ spotted a secluded table in the corner and headed towards it as soon as she got her coffee. Reid followed her and took a seat across from JJ. JJ just looked at Reid for a minute as she sipped her coffee. She still didn't know how to start.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Reid inquired, obviously uneasy with the silence.

"I have…I need to…There's something I need to tell you." JJ replied, clearly flustered.

"What?" Reid asked, interested. Reid's face lit up as an idea occurred to him. "Is this about you and Emily?"

"Wha…What?" JJ swallowed hard. She had not expected this at all.

"You and Emily. How you two are a couple now. Was that what you were going to tell me?" Reid said.

"How…What…I mean…But you….How…" JJ stammered.

"I know I'm not very quick to pick up on certain social situations, but I am a profiler JJ. I've seen the way you two have looked at each other recently." Reid answered the unasked questions.

"You have?" JJ bit her lip in embarrassment.

"Yeah. I'm really happy for the two of you. I think you go well together."

"Really?" JJ was in shock. She'd envisioned this conversation going a number of ways, but this wasn't one of them.

"Yes. I am your friend, you know!" Reid grinned at her.

"I know. I just…I'm sorry I didn't tell you Spence." JJ said.

"It's ok. I would guess that you had a bit of confusion to deal with and that it hasn't been easy telling anyone. My guess is the rest of the team found out rather than that you told them."

"Ha. Yeah. You really are a genius, aren't you Spence." JJ ruffled the young man's hair affectionately.

Reid beamed at her. "Technically, yes. So can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." JJ replied, relaxing now that the hard part was over, not that she'd really done anything. Reid had done it for her.

"How do you pick up girls? Because apparently you have a lot more success than I do." Reid grinned mischievously.

JJ laughed despite herself and rolled her eyes. _I guess Reid really is ok with me dating Em._

_____________________________________  
_

Emily's heart froze when she walked into the office. There was Strauss arguing with Hotch. Strauss was never good news. Ever. Emily scanned the bullpen for JJ and found her standing next to Morgan and Reid, looking petrified. Morgan had a protective arm around her. _Oh shit! Oh shit! What's happening?_ Emily felt her panic level rise. She dropped her stuff by her desk and headed over to her girlfriend. "What's going on?"

"Seems Strauss found out about you and JJ." Morgan said simply, putting his other arm around Emily. "Hotch is standing up for you though, so don't worry."

Emily's heart sank. She couldn't think. She couldn't process. If Strauss knew, then that was it. That was the end. She and JJ were out of here for sure. Especially her. Strauss had it out for her ever since she hadn't been willing to give her dirt on Hotch. _Oh God, oh God, oh God!!!_ Emily felt a familiar hand take hers. She looked up and her eyes met the stunning blue eyes of her girlfriend. JJ managed a meek smile and Emily found that she was able to breathe again. They'd known that this was a possibility and they'd talked about it. As long as they were together, they decided that they could face it.

Rossi entered the bullpen and joined the group. "What's wrong?"

"Strauss knows about us." Emily replied.

"Ah." Rossi paused. "Well, we're all behind you. She may not like us, and it may be frowned upon, but I'm sure we'll manage to keep you two around. Don't worry. We work well as a team. We've proved that time and time again. Besides the record of cases solved since you two have gotten together hasn't changed. We're better than ever."

Emily smiled at the older man. It really was nice to have the support of her bureau family. Her eyes went back to JJ and she could tell that her girlfriend was thinking the same thing. The door to Hotch's office opening captured the team's attention. Strauss glared at them, gave them a curt nod, and strode out of the office. Hotch beckoned to Emily and JJ, indicating that he wanted to talk to them.

Morgan gave Emily a comforting pat on the back. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Emily said. She took JJ's hand and they headed to face whatever was in store for them together, even if it was unemployment.

"Hi Hotch." JJ said tentatively as she entered Hotch's office.

"Good morning JJ. Morning Emily." Hotch greeted them. "Please have a seat."

"Hotch, if it's all the same to you, I'm far too nervous to sit. I'd much rather stand." Emily said, trying hard to calm the pounding in her chest. She swallowed hard.

"Ok. As you probably gathered, Strauss was here about the relationship that you two have established." Hotch started.

"Hotch, please. You're killing us. Just cut to the chase. Are we fired?" JJ asked.

Hotch smiled for the first time that morning. "No. I assured her that we as a team simply could not function without either of you, let alone without both of you. It took some convincing, but in the end I made her see that I was right. She may have just found out, but you two have been together for three months now. We've solved five cases in that time, one of which was considered a cold case until your insight broke it Emily. Your record speaks for itself. Your professionalism has never lapsed and I made sure that Strauss knew that."

JJ breathed out a sigh of relief as she sunk into a chair. Emily just stood there in shock. Had she heard right? She and JJ still had jobs? "I'm sorry…Could you repeat that please? I just want to make sure that you said what I thought you said."

Hotch's smile grew. "Your job is safe Emily."

"Somebody pinch me." Emily said. JJ complied with a grin.

"All I can say is that I hope that you both are very happy at the BAU, because I think transfer to any other department or the possibility for any advancement is highly unlikely." Hotch stated.

Emily shook her head and grinned as she too finally took a seat. "Now, why would we ever want to leave?"

Hotch smiled, remembering when he had told Strauss something similar. "Good. We're a team, and I think it's safe to say that not only do I have your backs, but so does everyone else on the team."

"Thanks." Emily said appreciatively.

"Yes. Thank you so much Hotch." JJ echoed.

"My pleasure. Now let's just keep up our stellar job performance, and Strauss really has nothing to complain about." Hotch effectively dismissed the two.

Emily stood and grinned at JJ, holding out a hand which JJ took, pulling herself up. Emily glanced at Hotch who looked down at his desk, appearing extremely interested in whatever he found there. _Oh hell, why not?_ Emily pulled JJ to her, and lay a soft, quick kiss of celebration on her lips.

Hotch cleared his throat ever so discreetly.

"Right. Well…Let's get to work. See you later Hotch!" Emily couldn't wipe the smile off of her face.

____________________________________

JJ sighed and collapsed onto the couch. "Ok, next year, we're definitely doing your family."

"Ha. No way! Are you kidding? Trust me, Ambassador Prentiss all by herself is ten times more stressful than your entire extended family all put together." Emily replied, sinking into the couch besides her girlfriend. "Besides, I like your family. And they seem a lot more ok with the 'you dating a girl' thing than my mom is with me dating a girl."

"Yeah…Let alone living with a girl. I have to admit. I'm really not looking forward to the Ambassador finding that out." JJ added.

"She'll come around eventually. I hope. When she figures out that I'm not trying to sabotage her public image." Emily said, rolling her eyes. She looked into JJ's eyes. "Hey."

"Hey." JJ smiled at her.

"So we've had our first Christmas together." Emily said.

"Yep." JJ fingered the diamond necklace around her neck that Emily had given her. "And we survived it with my whole family no less."

"Your family was great Jayj." Emily assured her.

"Yeah. You only think that because you weren't the one getting teased mercilessly." JJ pointed out.

"Maybe." Emily acknowledged. "But it was still a nice warm family atmosphere."

"Maybe." JJ let her fingers intertwine with Emily's. "Can you believe we've been together five months already?"

"Yes and no." Emily replied, pulling JJ in for a soft kiss. "In some ways I can't even remember my life before you were a part of it, in others, it seems like we just got together yesterday."

"Yeah. I know what you mean." JJ said with a smile, kissing Emily again, a little deeper this time. She pulled back and gazed lovingly into Emily's eyes. "I love you Em."

"I love you too Jayj." Emily replied. She paused, just feeling the comfort and warmth emanating from her girlfriend. "So how tired are you exactly?" Emily asked, a wicked grin spreading across her face as she ran her hand seductively up JJ's leg.

JJ grinned. "Not _that_ tired. What do you have in mind?"

"Oh, I dunno…but I'm pretty sure that it involves you wearing less clothing."

JJ raised an eyebrow suggestively. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." Emily said definitively and leaned in for another kiss. Their lips met with as much fire as they'd had the very first time they'd kissed.

JJ slid her tongue into Emily's mouth, assuring her that she was definitely up for whatever Emily had planned for the evening. Emily felt warmth flood through her body as an erotic tingle ran up her spine. "I love you."

"I love you too." JJ replied. "What do you say we move this to the bedroom?"

Emily wiggled her eyebrows. "I dunno…We haven't broken in this couch yet. I vote we stay here." Emily pulled the blanket on the back of the couch over them with one hand as her other hand slid up under JJ's shirt.

JJ giggled. "You win. Again."

Emily grinned. "I like winning." She kissed JJ passionately, as she repositioned herself above her, looking forward to the night of fun that awaited them. "And I love you."

The End. Thanks everyone for sticking with this ridiculously long fic and for all the great feedback. I hope you enjoyed it!


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